PACIFIC LIFE OPEN
March 19, 2008
Lleyton Hewitt
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. Lleyton, what made the difference out there? It was so
close.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it was close the whole way. Yeah, I
felt like, you know, I probably won a few more points than
him, I think, in the match, as well. And my percentage of
first serve was pretty good for me, as well.
I felt pretty comfortable with my service games out there.
He served well. I had probably a few more slight chances in
the third set at 30-Alls where I really wasn't under a lot
of pressure on my serve in the third set. So he played a
very clean and, you know, a great serving tiebreak to finish
it off.
Q. You mentioned the chances. What happened on some of
those missed opportunities you had out there? Did you feel
he just lifted it at the right time?
LLEYTON HEWITT: He served big on the big points. Yeah,
especially 30-Alls in the third set. He lost his way with
his serve little bit through the second set. But the first
set he was serving well.
And, yeah, even his second serve he goes for it and got a
lot of kick on his second serve. But, yeah, doesn't give you
too many cheap points to double fault to either. It was one
of those matches. I felt like in a lot of ways I was the
better player out there, but, you know, you don't quite win.
Q. He's got zip on his serve. Do you think the conditions
with thinner air and all that added to that this evening?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, little bit. You know, he served well.
He's obviously been serving well, pretty well, the whole
tournament.
Yeah, he was playing the edge tonight, though. Every point
where he had an opportunity to go after it he was taking a
full cut at every shot.
Yeah, the positive to take out of it is obviously, yeah, if
a guy's got to play like that to beat me, then so be it.
Q. You're obviously disappointed with the result, no
doubt about that. But do you still feel that you're playing
with confidence in yourself, you're feeling confident in
what you're doing on the court?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, I played pretty well tonight. I got --
to lose my serve at 5-All I got a foot fault on the second
serve on break point, so that was pretty much the first set
gone there. Then the second set I played great set, and the
third set I didn't really do anything wrong there either.
So I played pretty clean tennis out there tonight. Over five
sets in a Grand Slam, then it could have been a different
story. Three sets and when you get to a tiebreak like that,
it's anyone's game.
Q. Been a long time since you played him. The last time
was on grass. Makes a difference in his game?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. He's a flashy kind of player, I
think, on any surface. He's dangerous because, yeah, he's
obviously got a good serve and good all-court game as well,
and capable of hitting winners.
Q. Will you hang around here or go straight to Miami?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Don't know yet.
Q. Crowd was pulling for him. How much does that affect
you? Do you get bothered by you?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Not really. I've played enough big matches.
Obviously pretty fair crowd, I think.
Q. What do you think of the officiating? I thought there
were some questionable calls out there today.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, there were a few. Yeah, that's the
difference, I guess. You play -- I've played both my first
matches on center court where you got Hawk-Eye, and then you
get the back.
Yeah, it's probably not the fairest thing to have Hawk-Eye
on one court and not the rest. Yeah, it's not a lot you can
do about it.
Q. Didn't look like a lot of Hawk-Eyes out there working
the game from what I saw.
LLEYTON HEWITT: What's that?
Q. Didn't seem like a bunch of Hawk-Eyes out there
working the game from what I saw. It was disappointing?
LLEYTON HEWITT: What do you mean?
Q. There were a lot of bad calls, I thought, missed
calls.
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, there were some close calls I think
for both of us. But, yeah.
End of FastScripts
