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Lleyton Hewitt said he felt honored to be able to compete against idols Andre Agassi and Pete Samprass, before going up against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Hewitt turned pro in 1998 and he had a chance to compete against some of the greatest players in tennis history.
At the 2001 US Open, Hewitt lifted his first Grand Slam title after beating Sampras in the final. In 2002, Hewitt clinched his second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Then, the emergence of the Big Three started. Hewitt never again won a Grand Slam title, but he felt honored to be playing in the same era as the three greatest players in tennis history.
"I feel fortunate that I was able to play across different generations. I was able to be on the same court as my heroes that I looked up to, like Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, and then go on and compete against three of the greatest tennis players our sport has ever seen in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic," Hewitt said, per Sportskeeda.
Hewitt inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame
On Saturday, Hewitt was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame, Newport, the United States. Hewitt achieved his best results very early in his career as at the age of 20 he won his first Grand Slam and reached the top spot.
"The Hall of Fame seemed like something that was so far away from me ever being part of. It was never something I ever thought about as a player, and it was always, I thought, for the people that were my idols growing up and the absolute legends of the sport," Hewitt said.
Hewitt retired from tennis in 2016 and he has been the Australian Davis Cup captain for the past couple of years. Hewitt won the Davis Cup as a player and now he is hoping to bring Australia a Davis Cup title as a captain.