Rafael Nadal v Lleyton Hewitt - Australian Open 2005 4R | AO Classics
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 05. 2018
- Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the latest Australian Open TV news: bit.ly/AustralianOpenTV
Welcome To The Official Australian Open TV CZcams Channel. Here you will find exclusive clips and footage from Australian Open tournaments as well as player interviews featuring the likes of Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Martina Hingis.
Facebook: / australianopen
Twitter: / australianopen
Instagram: / australianopen - Sport
Being Australian I remember this match so vividly and wanting Hewitt to win so badly. Everytime Nadal hit a winner or got to some ridiculous ball I would say to myself "omg, I hate this Spanish kid" and I was so relieved when Hewitt won. 15 years and 19 slams later and Nadal is my favourite tennis player of all time. I've watched probably every one of his matches since this match. His fight, his spirit, his lefty spin, ridiculous defense and his passion for the game has me hooked. It will be a sad day when he hangs up his racquet. That goes for all of the big 3 actually. What an era.
I expect that Australian open goes to lleyton but it was a lot of tough matches and this one was terrible. Later rafa was on incredible shape. Unfortunately lleyton cannot win in that final against marat. It was so sadly to me, from Argentina
@@johnbrough1211 Although people might not feel sad when Djokovic hangs up his racket, tennis will have lost one of the greatest players of all time. It is foolish to not give Djokovic credit, even if you don't like him
I felt the same way about him (Fed fan here). Because he stopped Federer so many times from achieving feats that very few players before him had achieved
@Marco Barbera it's so funny you said exactly how I felt! I Remember this match very fondly thinking the exact same. I finished work & ran like crazy to get home & relieved to see Hewitt win the comeback! Now I stay up to watch Rafa's matches whether it's in Roland Garros or Wimbledon and lately his successes at the US Open (French doesn't need any explanation). I was absolutely gutted when I flew to Melbourne when he lost to Wawrinka, so many heartbreak matches down here. That said, absolutely love Nadal's spirit & passion & easily now my all-time favourite player! 🙂
Hewitt was at the top of his game and could have lost this match...Knew this 'kid' was going places after this match.
The way he controlled anger at 18 years age without breaking racquet while not getting the point he deserved is something many young and old players now should learn
Toni nadal told him in his childhood that what you have many can't even dream . So respect your equipment. That's why. Tennis is sport of rich
@@amanpandey2210 Not only that BUT it is also connected to Rafa's philosophy that "If you cannot even control your emotions, you cannot control your game, let alone the match."
2005 was the year that I started following this sports legend named Rafa Nadal. No other tennis player has been able to thrill me every time he is on the court.
I started following him from 2004 chennai open and the whole year...his win against Andy Roddick in Davis Cup in dec 2004 was when nadal was taken serious in tennis world. Roddick was the first to identify him and Nadal was his fav to win French Open in 2005.
This match I remember watching it live.
What Nadal did in clay court season that year is legendary and winning French Open on his debut there is phenomenal.
Omg same. I started following him since this AO and nvr looked back ever since. Hes my favourite player. I cant really be bothered watching tennis without him. He was exciting to watch back then and i ever said that he wil be a great champion one day. And now he has 21 GS and one of the greatest players of all time. I dunno what i will do when he retires. Watching tennis wont be the same again
Same, 2005 was the year I started to watch tennis because of him.
wish we all been watchin him this long
we jus love him ❤💕😍
Yeah no one asked
Hewitt told the reports right after this match thay he d be very very surprised if Nadal does not win soon the French Open.
Dam what an understatement that turned out to be.. Nadal first enters the French Open in 2005.. After 2018, he will have only lost 2 matches there. We will never see that kind of slam and single surface dominance ever again
@@armadyl1212 And now he has won 13 FO titles with 100-2 W/L record
Q. What is his potential? Is he going to be up there with you top guys pretty soon?
LLEYTON HEWITT: I think so. He's been -- at least last year, I think the year before, he might have been injured for the French Open or a lot of the clay court season. He's a lot better player than whatever his ranking is, to not be seeded. He's good on all surfaces. As I said, he's hungry, he's intense, he's competitive, he's all of that, and he's good for the game. I'll be very surprised if he didn't win the French Open one day.
anocri l
I watched the Aussie Open that year but do not remember this Match. Rafa was amazing just like now.
Its a head boggling and crazy fact that its the last major slam in which either of nadal, federer or djokovic failed to reach the final till the 2014 us open.
This domination is unbelievable. What an era for tennis.
"Should we dress the players we sponsor in the same outfit or give them different ones to be unique?"
Nike: "Yes"
Prime Hewitt was special, I really miss him at this level and I wish I was able to hang with Nadal and Federer for a bit longer. I seriously love this match, these two guys are my all time favourites
Hewitt was a damn good player. He could beat absolutely anybody when he was on and he never gave up
Not exactly. He couldn't beat Carlos Moya or Marat Safin in his prime in 2002.
@@JOHNNY73900 marat Safun is same case. He can beat anyone in his day.
@@JOHNNY73900 Yet he had a better career than both.
@@JOHNNY73900 Carlos Moya.... Very good player from that decade.....
This is the Nadal who would go on and win 11 titles in 2005.
Bada Bing888 n
What’s your point
@ dumbest comment I've ever read. You can't cheat in tennis. What are you talking about? Nadal and Djokovic are just better. Federer won all his titles in the weakest era of all time. If he was the same age as them he would have 8 to 10 slams.
@ How? Enlighten us please. And does that include your Federer?
@ How do they cheat? They have officials for every match at the top level, they have drug testing at all level at both ATP and ITF tournaments, the supplements they do take are sanctioned by the governing bodies and actions are taking against those that use drugs that aren't santioned like Sharapova. Unless you a referring to gambling corruption in the lower tournaments?
crazy how much rafa has improved. watching him now is like watching a different person
The competition is also easier now.
I'd say back then Rafa's defense was better than currently, but his offense and serve were way worse than now.
Rafa had improved a lot and reached his peak in 2008-2013 period. He's regressed significantly since then.
@@apathak34 Regressed only in speed and considering the state of his knees (which are much better now thanks to rest) and foot, as he said when you lose some weapons you work to gain other weapons. His serving was incredible at this AO, his volleying has been exceptional and much improved. His backhand was the reason for his resurgence in 2017. He won the 2020 FO by dominating the 0-4 shot rallies on clay and he defeated a opponent 10 years younger by winning more 9+ shot rallies in AO 2021 on hard. That is what great champions are capable of. Adapt and improve. Considering he was ready to say goodbye this year because of his foot, his achievement is beyond belief
He was the freak of all freak athletes back then, he's not that anymore. Some shots are better now but in general he has a smaller fuel tank and more aches and pains and could win a match but could not keep up with his young self over a calendar year, not at all. Young Nadal would be #1 in the world right now.
Rare sighting of a wild Nicholas Cage 12:25
Hahahah
Lol
Hewitt was very fast. Amazing how he tracked down Nadal's shots and grinded him down.
Hewitt was very determined and fast. That was his game plan, kinda like Nadal. The difference is that Nadal had strength and class/sportsmanship. Federer hated Hewitt because of how he treated his opponents. Federer has huge respect for Nadal
@simion pop Nadal slow?XDDD
You have proof Federer hated Hewitt? I don't believe it
@@634983 See their 1st davis cup match.Federer tryed ti hit Hewitt with the ball
@@thebigmonstaandy6644 I doubt it was in menace. Federer said he enjoyed the Australians and got along well with them.
Two runners in one game. It would be awesome watch those two guys fighting against each other in their best form.
18 years old, giving the hardest time of his life for the n°3 in the world/ 2 slams winner to beat him, unbelievable.
That was the best level Nadal played at a HC slam until 2008 AO
*ummbeliebable
Nadal was beating guys on the ATP since he was 16
He beat Federer in the first match they ever played when Fed was the undisputed no.1 and people were already calling him the GOAT.
10:37 Virtua Tennis 3??
LMAO
Good catch!
RossBayCult Thank You!!!
Why 3? Did 1 and 2 not have them jumping around like idiots?
Hahhahaha
look how much nadal opens his racket face on the forehand side early on in his career
he isn't opening it, he is closing it
sailorvvv you misspelt racquet
i always spell it 'racket'
Same here. IMO spelling it "racquet" isn't a good idea because it's not even the correct French spelling. If you're using a French word in English, spell it the way it would be spelled in French OR use a real English spelling. "Racquet" isn't either of those.
yeah its always the cause when kids are yoinger because muscles arent developped...same with djokovic roger etc...muscles changes so shots change
I think Nadal learned some important lessons in match play from Hewitt in this match , became a tougher opponent to beat in the months after this .......5 mths later he became French Open champ for the 1st time , Beating Federer on the way
It's the never-say-die spirit of Hewitt i think, that really hit Nadal in this match.
I wonder if Nadal thought back to this match after needing 6 match points to beat De Minaur at 2019 AO.
Dragonesque That wasn’t comparable at all though. De Minaur’s was a straight set thrashing. This was Nadal fighting till the end of a long 5 setter he had the upper hand in
@ actually he did play Federer in the Semis
Funny enough, this was first FO semi final for both Rafa and Roger.
@@nwokiketan To my memory he played Gael Monfils in the Semis
Lol he was so young
Remember following Safin through this tournament
What a match before hawk eye definitely think hewitt had some home support from the line umpires but played well regardless
Hewitt I think will always be an underrated tennis player. His baseline game was viscous
Yes he was very solid but had low power and not much variety.
In the early days 99-04 he was a major force but he was never the same after injury. He had a 7-2 h2h against Federer in their first 9 matches! He was the best in the world but never came back after injury. It happens. He was like Novak or Andy Murray in the early days when he got to World no 1 (2000/2001). He used to chase everything down. A great athlete. He also had a bit of a mouth on him. I always liked Hewitt. In the end he didn’t have enough power when Federer took over in 2004 onwards. I’d say Federer 2004-6 might be the best player I’ve ever seen and that includes Novak In 2011.
Actually, he's overrated. He possessed the great fortune to flourish in the interregnum between Sampras and Federer. Otherwise he wins zero Slams instead of two.
Joseph Manno agree
Tennis was different. Courts were much faster. They slowed all of them down around 05
Holy cow, I forgot how fast Hewitt was...
Hewitt was a weak era apparently 😂
@@634983 Let´s be honest. Hewitt is not better than Stan Wawrinka or Andy Murray and they are not even in the Big 3.
@@Romans8-9 but they are multiple slam winners though. How many can say that
@@Romans8-9 Hewitt's W/R is better than Wawrinka's and he beat Stan couple times when he was well past it & Wawrinka was playing better tennis during that period. Not sure about him being better, Murray on the other hands is.
@@DarthMuse Yes Hewitt is better than wawrinka. Murray has had the more successful career than both, but any given day doesn't mean Andy will beat both. Hewitt and Andy have only met once. Stan and Hewitt a handful of times.
Amazing to see how good Rafa was at 18 years old.
i remember watching this match....one thing Hewitt always had was speed.... he was very fast. he was able to track down a lot of Nadal's crosscourt shots.....
Those Dark Ages before Hawkeye Challenges, ha.
Nadal was robbed off a decent slice backhand in that 3rd game of the 5th set, but it didn't ever get as bad as the Miami 3rd set later in the year, against Federer.
Great match ... Hewitt was the better baseline defender and server, Nadal the better baseline attacker; but it's a wonder Nadal made so much out of his crappy serve. You can see his pace of serve isn't anywhere as potent as now, and you can see that his backhand was still not as assertive as it became in 2007-08. Forehand was still fine-tuning, and they got closer and closer to the lines, as the year went on.
You could say he was already better than Hewitt ever was, but he still was a little too raw to close the big matches out.
@juneaug Lok ask your sister. Or may be mom.
no shit he was 19, hewitt was 24
@@SneakyBarker so?
18 year old Rafa go on to win RG that year ❤❤❤
I love this Outfit from both Players
After all these years, I still really want one of these blue Nike singlets - one of my favourite tennis kits ever, so good.
Thanks AO!
Keep going!
Beating Nadal, Hewitt felt like he won the slam !
That is what others feel too !!
There are so many tremendous players like FEDERER and DJOKOVIC... they have also the fighting spirit. But the difference is Nadal's hardship to get the point is unexplainably extreme !
They call it the Nadal curse. Often when you bear Nadal you lose next round
14 years ago. The world looks so innocent back then
Les Moore you’re probably too young to understand
Les Moore there weren’t youtube back in the days, and people were more genuine compared to now. Anyways thats what i think. No need to take it too seriously
Les Moore ok
Les Moore i already said what i had to say. It is what i Think. You dont have to agree with it.
Or you can say more stupid and predictable. Majority of the people including the crowd thought that Hewitt is the next big thing but it came out to be Federer and Nadal, later on Djokovic.
amazing progress made from rafa after this match he won a slam a few masters series and finished world number 2!!
Yeah... Copy that... That's right....
Amazing how Nadal just won the AO in 2022!!! What a gift to see him still playing at such a high level, using his brain more and having full command of his ups and downs. Looking at him in the 5th set vs Hewitt I am reminded of how Medvedev was losing his cool vs Nadal and the insane rowdy crowd
Yes also amazing how he only won that tournament because the jab Nazis kept Novak out.
Hewitt's experience really shows. Smart play all the time. You'd like to know how Rafa reviewed this match to adjust.
The thing I like about Rafael Nadal and Lleyton Hewitt is that both players work hard, had the never give up attitude, won Grand Slams (Rafael Nadal winning 22 Grand Slams and Lleyton Hewitt winning 2 Grand Slams) (Interestingly, Roger Federer won his first 5 Wimbledon Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2007 with Lleyton Hewitt winning the Wimbledon Title in 2002 and Rafael Nadal winning the 2008 Wimbledon Title in one of the greatest Grand Slam finals ever (2022 Australian Open final is definitely now up there with the 2008 Wimbledon Final as one of the greatest Grand Slam Finals as well)) and love representing their respective countries (Rafael Nadal helped Spain and Lleyton Hewitt helped Australia win Davis Cup Titles for their respective countries with Rafael Nadal winning Olympic Gold Medals for Spain as well).
Dear AO, please upload legendary Safin vs. Federer match in HD! Please.
FloidMr czcams.com/video/IPmjKraXr34/video.html
I've seen all videos of that match on youtube. I want to see this with highest possible quality ;)
Wish granted. Check uploaded videos
it's uploaded now
Please Australian Open, do the same with the Federer vs Safin classic meeting!! You always have been my favorite Slam
Hewitt dominated that Sampras-Federer interregnum. He's a scrapper, but is also tremendously lucky that his peak occurred precisely then, else he would never have won a Slam.
Rafa and Lleyton have such a muscular/athletic build. If more guys looked like this then fans of other sports would be into tennis
Ah... Tennis, where no one cares if you wear the same thing to work.
Underrated comment
Neither does golf
Please Upload Nadal vs Verdasco 2009 Semi final
Impetus48 That was one of the BEST matches ever😁
The best Australian Open match ever.
It's there.
As a serbian and Djoko fan i can only say that Nadal-Verdasco is the best match i have ever seen..
Commentary in this match is really awesome.
Remember watching this live.. My favourite player in the early 2000s. Hewitt
Both of these guys, mark woodforde and fred stolle, 13 years on, still calling Nadal right now at Roland Garros 2018 🤗
I really wanted Hewitt to win this Open. With the monster of Federer gone, the dude was on straight fire all the way to the final
but then he ran into the unstoppable force known as Marat Safin
I was betting on marat safin. I miss him being on court.
@@arvind13as soon as I saw that sf between Safin and Fed, I knew that anyone who’s gonna come out on top will own Hewitt in the final, even when it’s a really long 5 setter
The legend of tennis
Remember watching this match on the big screen at Melbourne Park and some guy was sitting next to me saying “It’s not looking good we’re getting excited about Hewitt holding serve” this was when he was down a break in the fourth set and then he ends up winning in 5 sets being 2-1 sets down and a break of serve down
This is gold!
Lleyton Hewitt played best from 2001-2005.
Hewitt 2001-2005 was one of the best players of all time. Since 2005 he had not enough explosion in his game, not so sharp. Look at his games against Agassi 2002 and more, he was absolutely consistent, great angles, precision, best speed. Yes, young Nadal, but Hewitt beated him in 2004 and 2005.
Best players all times??
It is a joke...
Wawrinka and Murray had been best.
Nadal 17 years old
What happened after 2005 to Hewitt?
Injuries
@@634983better players came
C'était une année fantastique, la montée vers la gloire...❤
I see some similarities between this match and the Alcaraz-Berretini from 2022. Both Alcaraz and Nadal were 18 (to 19). They displayed great tennis at a similar stage in this Open against a top 10 player and kind of deserved to win. Will it also mean a great year for Alcaraz as it was for Nadal (Nadal won 11 titles this year)? We'll see.
You see. Two titles already for Carlos, playing like a monster. Too many similarities already
Three
Four (oh boy)
Five! And I don't need any more reasons to add. I was so right!
Not a bad year for Alcaraz, at all
Australian Open Can you please upload the whole match?
Was it Nike or Nadal himself trying to push these 3 quarter pants😂😂😂
Moses Ulai Nike, and kids wore them for years at my country club. So awful lol.
Moses Ulai it was Nike. Because if you look it up they tried to push it on Federer. There’s a promo shot for Nike with Federer wearing the pants.
A portrait of the GOAT as a young man
goat my ass
He was the rebirth of Bjorn Borg into the modern age; a boy who was great on all surfaces, but best on clay.
Incoming butt hurt comments coming in 3 2 ...
Dean Dalton yep sure. Totally not Federer...
Caleb Pereira but with more spin
Battle of biceps
Lleyton Hewitt is one of the many players who could of won more slams had they were placed in any other era than the one where they played. His game was so passionate and entertaining. If only he had more firepower, his career would have turned out differently, which was another setback for him. As for Rafa, he's looking very young and handsome.
This match will always be remembered for both players with similar all court presence, who keep fighting every single point wearing similar sleeveless shirts and this match starting in the noon going all the way into the dark. Will always remember this match. Nadal was taken serious even though he lost this match. Hewitt is a legend who got caught up in Roger era...i used to copy hewitt's serve, court movements and celebration of point while I was playing tennis. A legend he is.
in fact they were wearing the same shirts, socks and sneakers!!
At this time I was 13 years old and first saw RF. I don't know but from this day I became BIG fan of Rafa
Now, he is fighting to become GOAT, just need couple Grand Slams
I could't imagine that
Please upload full match videos ....
really love nadal forehand's motion.
It will be a long time to see someone 18 again playing a round of 16 of a GS. It was a Rafa of 18 against a consolidated top5.
I thubj there was GS final where Sampras 19 and Agassi 20.
Alcaraz did it last year. lol
It's true he lost this game, but he become the best in the world 🗺 Rafa matador
Nadal's forehand looks different from nowadays
Yes it's always the case for every player because their bodies changes, when they get stronger they naturally open their arms less and less... As they no longer need to open to generate power....
+reinterpret_cast Yeah it's because Nadal changed the backswing on his forehand many times throughout his career. The follow through is still the same though.
@@SpoderBlitz yes, if you watch matches of Madrid 2010 for example, his backsuing is really really different. Proof that they keep trying new things all the time.
Green courts were beautiful.
Said Miranda harder to see the ball tho
But harder to track the ball. Which is why they switched to blue.
The real problem was the material itself.
Seems strange with no "challenge system" in place
Please upload, Hewitt vs Nalbandian AO 2005 Quarterfinal, Safin vs Federer AO 2005 SF and Federer vs Gonzalez AO 2007 Final.
Egor Geroev Si, pero las versiones que hay son de baja calidad. Viendo estas que están subiendo y siendo el canal oficial, seguramente tienen algo de mayor calidad.
Claro que los disfruto, ya que al ser uploader sé lo difíciles que son de conseguir. A vos te veo pidiendo partidos del Chino Rios, de hecho me pediste a mi, y no vi que me hayas dado las gracias por subir el Rios vs Zabaleta de Hamburgo. Por si no te enteraste en mi otro canal el primero que subió ese partido fui yo. Sería bueno que antes de decirle a los demás que es lo que deben hacer, empieces por casa, no? Espero que te haya quedado claro, man.
They really got the same exact outfit on 🙌
I always bothered me how Hewitt's game had so little... bite.
It was, in fact, positively underwhelming. Not a single one of his strokes was a weapon, and the only thing he knew how to do was to scramble and counterpunch. He had absolutely no idea how to take the initiative, even refusing to when given the opportunity. 4:57 is the perfect example. He got out of a sticky situation with terrific defense, earning a short ball that would have allowed him to put pressure on Nadal. But he just floats it back. Contrast that to what Rafa did with his half-assed stroke: an immediate attempt to end the point through aggression.
Sure, this is Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest of all time. But this is why Hewitt got blown off the court so easily late in his career. He got too old to scramble for 3 hours straight and ended up looking straight up weak and boring.
I think he had a hip injury that derailed his career but yeah once he lost the movement, he couldnt compete with the elite. You are 100% right that he had no real weapons and his topspin lob couldnt really be used enough to be considered a weapon.
So this was the last grand slam where Nadal had 0 grand slam titles. Crazy to think that it is here in Australia 17 years later that he has won his 21st.
little did with know,Nadal would become a superstar for many years to come.
Not sure how crazy this is to anyone else, but it's amazing how fast they both cut directions after a fast/quick/big run, without sliding on the hard court. It almost looks much more efficient movement wise. New technology in the shoes just cheaper now? I didn't play tennis in 2005 so I wonder if the shoes back then were made of more hard rubber instead of so much plastic in shoes now a days.
Nothing to do with shoes, courts are way slower today thats why Djokovic can slide like he does
After so many bad line calls Nadal still was mature enough to not to let his emotions get the better of him whereas on the other hand you have Zverev who hits and abuses the umpire and breaks racquets.
the best shoes!!
Hewitt was one of the toughest defensive baseliners in history, an absolute wall, defense/return of serve was unparalled, never conceding an inch. He could hit passing shots with the best of them if the opponent approached, but he had that stiff, mostly flat backhand and nowhere near the variety or spin like a guy like Nadal. He was normally placed 7 feet behind the baseline and rarely got within 20 feet of the net himself on the offensive side...I don't even think he knew what the tape looked like up close. Unfortunately he didn't have the complete arsenal to pull it off against people who came along with a more varied offensive game. Massive flaw in his game which was eventually figured out by all of the top players. In the modern game, you cannot win at the top with a mostly defensive arsenal. Nadal was similar when he was young, but had a much better offensive arsenal from both sides the back, and learned an all court game as time went on. Once the opponents exploited that weakness, Hewitt's short tenure at the top was over.
@Aaron Maher
Murray has a more penetrative backhand and serve. Hence, he can do what Hewitt did a little more effectively.
Because he can do that and more. He's always been a better version of Hewitt ... a defensive counterpuncher with more strength and speed.
@Aaron Maher
Nah, Hewitt was slightly slower than Murray. And there was no way he was he more aggressive. His average shot depth was pathetic compared to Murray. He'd get pushed around by 2005-09 Fed, whereas Murray would actually beat that Fed in bo3 more often than not. Plus, your argument is based on only 1 teeny-weeny sample size of a rally with Benneteau. That's not an argument at all.
So we can agree to disagree, instead of wasting our time belaboring the point. :)
I don't agree.I think a lot of inyuries has to do with his downfall in rankings....it is always difficult to comeback after inyuries
@Aaron Maher Murray had winning h2h record against Peak fed.
2005: That guy nadal is a good player, may win a grand slam
grandslam in 2022 : pls hold me for the 22nd time
Hewitt said after this match (paraphrasing) - ‘I’d expect him to win A french open’ - little did he know lol
Weird how Nadal doesn’t finish his grunt in older matches
Dont see a future in this nadal kid. Flash in the pan!
@ terab ali 2019 what do you think about this Nadal kid. Flash in your pan? Still alive?
@@lucillebonds4332 Don't you understand his sarcastic comment?
@zakaria djouzi not as bad as Nadal plays against Djokovic
@zakaria djouzi when it matters the most is final and it is 4-4 in finals. Djoko has defeated Rafa in all slams but Rafa never defeated Novak in AO and never will. There are more chances for Novak defeating Rafa on clay compared to rafa defeating Novak on hardcourts or Grass
@zakaria djouzi And Rafa won when Djoko was new and outside top 10. How many he won after 2011.
The court is so much faster now
It was fast till 2009. Slowed down till 2016. Again it is faster now. If you take cpi then AO is now fastest knowing that both USO & Wimbledon are slowed down.
Hewitt was the top next gen player in the early 2000's. Maybe even more than Federer early on.
ヒューイットカッコいい
Nadal is a gentleman in court.
Pivotal match in a lot of ways. Nadal would win his first major at the French Open a few months later. Both of these guys were the ultimate meat grinders. Hewitt would go on to lose the Final to Safin that year but I give him credit for getting through this match because Hewitt survived a tough 5 setter 10-8 in the fifth with Nalbandian and then this 5 setter against a young Nadal that will take the starch out of anybody. And Safin was playing well that year anyway. Hewitt had some great wheels and could really move but the tidal wave of Federer & Nadal were looming.
Please upload any videos of Pete Sampras
Sampras vs Jim Courier
This is the first match ever I saw Nadal play tennis
Sharapova v Williams 2005 is also a classic
Wow.both were babies.
Didn't seem like a fair match- the crowd was obviously on Lleyton's side, and there were more than a few bad calls against Rafa.
it's the australian open no shit they were on his side lmao
Hewitt looks like Heath Ledger
keep in mind this Nadal would dominate Roland Garros a few months later
When nadal actually hit regular forehand strokes but some whip ones
That aero racquet was the best of the aero line... Only the 90s kids will understand lol
Huge power on serve
Hewitt s shot is most reliable
One of the few times opponents wore the same sleeveless shirt
When instant replay system hasn't arrived yet.
I miss the green courts even though the blue makes it easier to see the ball, it just looks uglier. lol
Lol Rafa running around his backhand
how does this court speed compare to the 2017 australian open speed
THE DEFENCE *Spider-Man v Spider-Man meme*
That kid who lost looks to have a good overall game. Hope he can win a slam or two.