Australian Open: Lleyton Hewitt follows in Harry Hopman's footsteps as he leads the next generation
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When Lleyton Hewitt burst onto the scene in the late 1990s as a teenager with his cap worn in the style of Bart Simpson, a violently pumping fist and his top lip curled into a permanent sneer, it did not seem likely this subject would be broached.
But with that once troublesome kid now exerting a powerful influence on some very well performed players, the question seems worth asking: Is Hewitt Australia's greatest tennis whisperer since Harry Hopman?
Tennis is now unrecognisable from the sport Hopman dominated for two decades with a generation of champions that doubles as a roll call of all-time greats. Sedgman and McGregor; Rosewall and Hoad; Cooper, Fraser, Emerson and Anderson; Newcombe, Stolle and Roche.
Wave after wave of champions dominating at Davis Cup and grand slam level until they joined the professional ranks, when Hopman would scour the countryside and pull more serve-volleying rabbits from his wide-brimmed hat.
Hopman's teams travelled the world together, were subject to the Old Fox's curfews and fined if they didn't use their manners at the dinner table.
Can you imagine Nick Kyrgios copping a penalty for talking with his mouth full? Or, for the matter, falling for Hopman's famous but now seemingly quaint mind games such as letting Mal Anderson win at poker the night before a Wimbledon final to boost his confidence?
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As Davis Cup captain, Lleyton Hewitt has fostered a strong team atmosphere. (AAP: Glenn Hunt)
In this era of individuals travelling with their vast courtside entourages of coaches, agents, trainers, family and friends — "my team" as they refer to them now — the role of Davis Cup captain has been vastly diminished.
Yet as Hewitt oversees the progress of the exciting 18-year-old Alex de Minaur and wins praise for his positive influence on the once seemingly terminally distracted and uninterested Kyrgios, it is evident he has been infused with Hopman's wily coaching DNA.
Former Davis Cup player and now tennis commentator Geoff Masters believes that process began in 1999 when the then 18-year-old Hewitt was called up to replace Mark Philippoussis for a vital second round tie in the US and beat the highly-ranked Todd Martin in his first match.
"You could see immediately the way he embraced that whole philosophy from John Newcombe and Tony Roche," Masters, who attended the tie, says.
"It played a major role in Lleyton's understanding of not only Davis Cup, but how you go about things at that level and how you pass down to the next generation what is expected. So it doesn't surprise me he bring that to younger players now."
American Jack Kramer, a champion player who became a strong advocate and promoter of professional tennis, and thus an enemy of the arch-amateur Hopman, once wrote disparagingly of the Australian: "He had no children, no hobbies and tennis was everything to him."
Hewitt has benefited vastly from the professional era and son Cruz now sits near him at De Minaur's matches. But in the way he can precisely recall points from long ago matches and recite the strengths and weaknesses of the most obscure opponent, Hewitt shares Hopman's obsessive streak.
For the diminutive (by tennis standards) Hewitt, this characteristic was necessary to cut larger and more powerful opponents down to size. But it is also an asset when imparting his knowledge to youngsters such as De Minaur and Kyrgios.
"You can see with de Minaur already the way he structures points and plays to an opponent's strengths and weaknesses, Lleyton has had a big impact," says Masters. That impact extends even to the 18 year-old's Lleyonesque fist pumps — even de Minaur's inspiration comes from the NSW State of Origin "Blue Wall", not Rocky.
Hewitt's role with De Minaur comes at close quarters with his agent also managing the young Australian. His influence on the self-consciously rebellious Kyrgios stems from the Canberran's craving for a strong team environment.
"He loves basketball and he would like it if tennis was always a team sport, I think that is what he would prefer," Kyrgios's former coach Todd Larkham told Fairfax Media last year.
In 2015 Kyrgios left a Davis Cup tie in Darwin seemingly disillusioned after he had been replaced in the singles rubbers by journeyman Sam Groth. Yet, after his time with Hewitt, Kyrgios now says winning the Davis Cup is more important to him than winning a first grand slam title.
Hewitt was at stages in his career almost as divisive as Kyrgios due to his on-court skirmishes and a confrontational relationship with the media. No doubt Kyrgios sees in his Davis Cup captain a kindred spirit.
"Absolutely," says Masters of that proposition. "You can see that he has embraced Lleyton's philosophy and you can see, even though it is an individual sport, how much you can take out of that team environment.
"Obviously it's changed a lot [since Hopman's day]. The players aren't rooming together and travelling together. But Australia is still a long way from the rest of the world and I think they still get something out of that sense of team spirit."
The 36-year-old Hewitt will play doubles at the Australian Open with Groth. The cravings of the born competitor have not left him.
Yet it will be when Kyrgios, De Minaur and the others he now oversees as Davis Cup captain take the court that Hewitt's presence will loom largest. Almost 50 years after the Old Fox Hopman stood down, Australian tennis has a New Fox.
Topics: australian-open, tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia
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