Lleyton Hewitt notches 600th ATP tour singles victory!
Congratulations to Rusty - Lleyton Hewitt, his team and supporters!
A fighter by any definition of the word, he has overcome many injuries, surgeries, time away from the game, has a beautiful wife (Bec) and 3 children (Mia 8, Cruz 5, and Ava 3), and still loves the game. Less than two years ago he was #233 in the world, trying to recover from another surgery, and has recently risen to be back in the top 40 players in the world. The two time major winner, including a prestigious Wimbledon triumph, defeated Robin Haase to capture his 600th tour singles win, joining Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only active players to have reached the mark.
Not blessed with great height at a generous 5' 11" (180cm), his speed and agility around the court, along with one of the best return of serve in the game, not to mention his passing shots and perhaps one of the best lobbers of all time, and his fiery, never-say-die temperament propelled him to the position of the youngest male #1 player in the world ever, a position he held for 80 weeks, 4th on the active list, behind Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. Many criticized Hewitt for lacking the big weapons, serves, ground-strokes, but with his tenacious spirit, all he did was win. A controversial figure at times, especially as a hot-headed youngster, he has been the spirited leader of his Davis Cup team, contributions including two Cup wins and two finals. Unfortunately, starting in 2005, he started to endure a series of injuries, almost yearly, which eventually knocked him out of the top 10 in the game.
He is next scheduled to play Rafael Nadal on Saturday. Best of luck to both.
Respectfully,
masterclass