'It's surreal': Lleyton Hewitt on his induction into Tennis Hall of Fame

Lleyton Hewitt paused for a moment and the word easily came to mind when he was asked how he wanted to be remembered.

“Competitor,” the 41-year-old Hewitt said in an interview with The Associated Press earlier in the day before his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

“For me, someone that loved to lay it on the line day after day, and got the most out of themselves, I competed as hard as I possibly could on the court every time I took to the court,” said the former Australian star. “The fans deserved for us to give everything and go out and compete, and that’s something I prided myself on.”

Hewitt was elected into the Hall as part of the 2021 class, but due to travel restrictions because of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was unable to attend the enshrinement ceremony last summer. There was no one elected for 2022, so the moment was his alone. He's the 34th player from Australia to be inducted.

The enshrinement ceremony was held on Newport’s grass side courts after the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Open. Eight Hall of Famers, including Andy Roddick (2017) and Tracy Austin ('92), attended the event.

A two-time Grand Slam champion (Wimbledon 2002, US Open 2001), Hewitt finished ’01 and ’02 as the No. 1 player in the world and spent 80 weeks top-ranked. In 2001, he became the youngest at 20 years, eight months and 26 days to become the top men’s player.

During his career, he won 30 singles titles and was a part of two Davis Cup championship teams, in 1999 and 2003.