Hewitt retires after second round loss

MELBOURNE (AP):

There's a reason why Lleyton Hewitt could keep tennis fans awake until after four in the morning, even when he was playing at home, years after winning Grand Slam titles in far-away New York or London.

Hewitt contested every, single point. If he was smaller or less powerful than his rival across the net, he countered that by tenaciously chasing, retrieving and grinding opponents down.

His relentless intensity and never-give-in attitude had critics bristling when he emerged as a brash, up-and-coming teen wearing his cap back-to-front. But they later applauded him when he matured and slightly mellowed into a tennis elder.

Hewitt's 20th bid to win the Australian Open ended in a 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 second-round loss to eighth-seeded David Ferrer last night, his last singles match as a pro.

Typically, it was a feisty affair. He launched a verbal volley at chair umpire Pascal Maria after the seventh game of the last set when he was angered by foot-fault calls at one end.

"Left nothing in the locker room. That's something I can be proud of," Hewitt, who turns 35 next month, told the crowd. "My whole career, I've given 100 percent."

Hewitt, who played his first Australian Open in 1997, never achieved his ambition of winning the national championship. He was involved in some memorable matches at Melbourne Park, though, including a run to the 2005 final, which he lost to Marat Safin.

"I felt like this was the perfect place to finish," Hewitt said yesterday, sharing the court with his three children. "A couple of the roars during the match tonight was as loud as I've ever played in front of. I was getting goosebumps at times."