Melbourne, Jan.2 (ANI): Australian tennis star Lleyton Hewitt still believes that he has a lot to achieve in the sport, including grabbing some more grand slams.
When his troublesome hip finally gave way at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 he was faced with a hard decision, to go on or give it away. It had been seven years since he sat atop the rankings and six years since he lifted a grand slam trophy.
These - the big prizes - had always been what motivated him. The other great motivator had been Davis Cup but that, too, was a past glory.
"I could have gone through life, retired from tennis, and it [the hip] wouldn't have been a problem," the Daily Telegraph quotes him, as saying.
He had a lot of points to defend and knew that the comeback from surgery would most likely see him drop outside the top 100 (he fell as far as 108).
He had a wife and was expecting his second child, he was sick of travelling and waking up in hotels without them.
What made him keep going when everything seemed to point him in the opposite direction?
"I still think there are grand slams still in me," he says.
"If you keep putting yourself in that position, you will get your chance. There is still unfinished business," he added.
With long-time fired Nathan Healey as his coach and David Drysdale as his manager, Hewitt believes he has the required backup to see him achieve his remaining goals in tennis.
"It has taken the best guys to beat me, basically every time," he says. "If you keep putting yourself in that position, time after time laying it on the line, eventually you will get your chance and it is going to open up. There is still unfinished business," he says.
Now ranked 22, he believes again that he can beat the very best, although it is six years now since he last vanquished Federer.
Asked how he wished to be remembered when his career is over, Hewitt said as a fierce competitor, who never gave up and produced his best when representing his country. (ANI)
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