On January 29, 2015, Pat Rafter, Wally Masur and Lleyton Hewitt held a joint press conference to announce that Rafter would step down as Davis Cup captain effective immediately and that Masur would assume the role for the time being. That is until Hewitt takes over in 2016. As some sort of bizarre footnote to that statement, the Aussie legend added, almost reluctantly, that he would put an end to his storied career as a player after the 2016 Australian Open – his 20th – competing in a select few of his favorite tournaments including the Queen’s Club and Wimbledon on the way to his final farewell.
That’s it. He finally dropped the R bomb. What will journalists write about after Hewitt’s (scarce) press conferences from now on? They can no longer speculate on his upcoming retirement and expressions like « he turned back the clock », « he rolled back the years » or « vintage Hewitt » will soon be off limits. Roger Federer must be praying for yet another Tommy Haas comeback not to feel too lonely at the never-say-retire table. Especially if 2015 turns out to be another Slamless year for the Swiss Maestro.
All of that happened a month ago. In the meantime, Federer even had time to drop the ball soundly regarding his Davis Cup involvement – or lack thereof – and bluntly ask his ever loyal sidekick Stan Wawrinka to pick it up for him. Some might say nothing that wouldn’t happen any month, but still. So why did it take me so long to react to possibly the saddest piece of news in my amateur writing career? Well, hindsight I guess. In the wake of Hewitt’s heartbreaking loss to journeyman Benjamin Becker – hello, Agassi’s career-ender in 2006 – all I was ready to do was say it was about time the guy retired. All I was ready to talk about was all these squandered leads and thrown away five-setters in recent years. All I was ready to discuss was the way choking on special occasions had become as much of a signature move as his grit and mental toughness on the big stage had been his trademarks back in the day. It took me a month to realize it was beside the point.
After coming to terms with the bitter disappointment brought by that tear-jerker of a match, I came to the conclusion that what mattered was elsewhere. When Andy Roddick hung up his racket, he said he was doing so because he didn’t have enough gas left in the tank to play any longer and because embarrassing defeats were starting to pile up. He also added that he was retiring on his own terms, which is not exactly what the previous sentence suggests. However, at the end of the day, tough losses aren’t the memory people go home with.
Ten years from now, absolutely no one – except Hewitt, yours truly and maybe a few pundits – will have any recollection of that pathetic excuse for tennis displayed in the last three sets against Becker. Several other massive pieces of choking will also be gone and forgotten. Lleyton Hewitt will be remembered for what he stood for in his prime: 2 Grand Slam titles, 2 Masters Cups (currently ATP Tour Finals), 2 Masters Series (currently Masters 1000) titles, youngest number 1 in history (very unlikely to be surpassed any time soon), 30 titles altogether. As far as history is concerned, he could lose every match on his farewell tour and it wouldn’t mean squat. Winning or losing second-tier matches has lost all relevance in the big picture. He’s reached the point when his legend can no longer be challenged. That’s precisely when you earn the right to go out on your own terms no matter what. And who said newly appointed Captain Hewitt was leaving the game anyway? He’ll just be on the other side of the revolving door.
Picture: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Lleyton_Hewitt_%2814418849771%29. jpg
Pardon my French 