Published 02/13/2023, 8:30 AM EST
Many players who started playing in the 2000s will have a story of their time against Roger Federer. After winning his first Grand Slam title in 2003, Federer became a player many prayed not to face in competitions. However, Federer was not always the dominant and composed player we saw before his retirement. In his first few years, he struggled against many players before finally becoming number 1 in 2004. Lleyton Hewitt was one player who Federer struggled against initially.
Hewitt is an Australian player who announced his retirement in 2016. He is the latest Australian national to win any Grand Slam in the men’s singles category. He recently went on a podcast to discuss his tennis career. Hewitt also talked about his game against Federer and how the Swiss Maestro overcame him.
Lleyton Hewitt talks about Roger Federer and their rivalry
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Lleyton Hewitt recently went on a podcast called Tennis Worthy, hosted by renowned tennis journalist Chris Bowers. Hewitt recalled many events of his life, but one of the most notable ones was his comment about Roger Federer. Hewitt and Federer have gone head-to-head a total of twenty-seven times. Federer is in the lead by eleven victories. Hewitt has won nine matches, while the Swiss national has eighteen in the bag.
Hewitt told Bowers that Federer lacked self-confidence for quite some time, and that is why he struggled against him. But when he overcame the issue, he won many big matches against Hewitt, including his straight-sets victory in the 2004 US Open final, and became one of the most dominant players of the 2000s.
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“I think he got the self-belief in himself that he was able to do it against players, and up until that point, I was the one guy that he really struggled with, especially head-to-head, and he certainly made up for that,” Hewitt explained to Bowers.
“After that, I lost a lot of big matches to him, including the US Open final where he destroyed me in straight sets later that year in 2004, and yea, he really went from strength to strength after that,” he added further.
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Hewitt is just one of the few players who can tell a tale or two about The Mighty Federer. Each rival of Federer can see how he changed and adapted to the game.