Lleyton Hewitt's huge career moment
Lleyton Hewitt has taken his place among legends as the two-time Grand Slam champion was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
The 41-year-old was joined by his wife Bec and three children, Mia, Ava and Cruz, as he was presented with the prestigious award in a ceremony that was delayed due to Covid.
The tennis champ from Adelaide was unable to travel to the Hall of Fame last year from Australia so his induction was postponed for a year and staged after Saturday’s ATP Hall of Fame Open semi-finals in the US.
Coincidentally, the ceremony was staged on the court where Hewitt won his first ATP grass court match as a teen in 1998.
“I think I needed that extra year to come up with some proper words,” Hewitt said in a speech.
“This is an incredible honour for me. It has made it all the more special to be able to have my family and friends here.”
“To think where it all began for me on junior tennis courts in the middle of nowhere in Adelaide in Australia, with no one watching, no TV cameras, and then to make the full tennis journey and actually now be coming into the Hall of Fame. For me, this is such a special place here in Newport,” he said.
Lleyton was honoured for his extraordinary career, as he won the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles among 30 career ATP triumphs and helped Australia capture the Davis Cup in 1999 and 2003.
Hewitt was a year-end world number one in 2001 and 2002 and his intense emotion combined with speed and skilled shotmaking made him a threat on any surface, great shots usually followed by the scream, “Come on.”
Hewitt finished with a career record of 616-262 in ATP singles play.
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