LLEYTON HEWITT GUARANTEED A WILD CARD FOR FINAL BOW AT THE QUEEN’S CLUB FOR THE 2015 AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS

Written by: Staff on 10th February 2015

LLEYTON HEWITT GUARANTEED A WILD CARD FOR FINAL BOW AT THE QUEEN'S CLUB FOR THE 2015 AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS |

AEGON CHAMPIONSHIPS

THE QUEEN’S CLUB, LONDON

15-21 JUNE, 2015

Four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt has been guaranteed a wild card into the Aegon Championships after confirming that he would like to play the tournament at The Queen’s Club one more time before retiring.

Hewitt, who memorably beat Pete Sampras in the 2000 final aged just 19, will make his 16th and last competitive playing appearance alongside defending champion Grigor Dimitrov and British No.1 Andy Murray at the Aegon Championships, 15th-21st June. He plans to bring the curtain down on his glorious playing career in his 20th appearance at the Australian Open, next January.

“It took us roughly two seconds to decide to guarantee Lleyton a wild card!” said Aegon Championships Tournament Director, Stephen Farrow. “It is a little unconventional to award wild cards before the entry list has been finalized, but Lleyton is one of our greatest champions and we were delighted to hear that he wanted to return one more time. He stands alongside only John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Andy Roddick in winning the tournament on four occasions in the Open era, and our spectators love watching him play every year. We very much look forward to seeing him again in June.”

Hewitt is first targeting Australia’s Davis Cup clash with Czech Republic next month, and will then turn his attentions to preparing for the Aegon Championships.

Aegon Championships. Photo by Francisco Resendiz.

“I can’t wait to get back there one more time,” said Hewitt. “I’ll enjoy the grass one more time, and then finish off where it all started for me, at the Australian Open. As soon as you walk in to The Queen’s Club, you feel the tradition and the history of the place. And obviously the grass courts are prepared so well – you don’t get a bad bounce out there. One of the proudest memories for me is to have won the event four times when it always has such a great player list. It’s had so many World No.1’s and Grand Slam champions over the years. Guys that hold up the Wimbledon trophy a couple of weeks later often do their preparation at The Queen’s Club.”

It is something he did himself in 2002, winning his third title at The Queen’s Club before beating David Nalbandian in the final of The Championships, Wimbledon, a few weeks later. Does he stand a chance of a record fifth title at the Aegon Championships?

“I still give myself a good shot,” said Hewitt. “Obviously with a bit of good luck in the draw. But the grass court tournaments do throw up a few surprises, and it’s where I have my best opportunity because not that many players are contenders for the big tournaments on that particular surface. If the draw opens up, you never know what might happen. I’ll be going in to do some damage.”

To watch an interview with Lleyton Hewitt, click here: http://www.lta.org.uk/fans-major-events/LTA-summer-grass-court-events/Aegon-Championships/News/2015/Four-time-champion-Lleyton-Hewitt-back-for-final-bow-at-the-Aegon-Championships/

Hewitt beat Sampras 6-4, 6-4 in the final in 2000 and then Tim Henman in the 2001 and 2002 finals. He won his fourth title in 2006, overcoming James Blake in the final. He has won two Grand Slam titles in his career, the 2001 US Open, and Wimbledon in 2002. He topped the world rankings for 80 weeks in 2001 and 2002.

David Macmillan, Chief Marketing Officer at Aegon said: “To have three of the tournament’s champions committed to be part of the playing field so early is very exciting. The Aegon Championships is one of the season’s leading grass court events, and Lleyton Hewitt is one of the sport’s great players. We look forward to seeing him one more time.”

Tickets to the Aegon Championships go on general sale on March 3rd at 10 am. The tournament has been upgraded to ATP-500 in 2015, with $1 million of additional prize money and an extra week between the French Open and the start of the tournament. The event singles draw has been reduced from 56 to 32 to ensure that the top seeds will all play on either Monday or Tuesday.

For more information, please go to www.aegonchampionships.com

Photo by Francisco Resendiz

INFORMATIVE TOURNEY TIDBITS.

• The Aegon Championships takes place at The Queen’s Club in London, 15th-21st June. It has been won four times by John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick. McEnroe (1981, ‘84), Jimmy Connors (1982), Becker (1985), Pete Sampras (1995, 1999), Hewitt (2002), Rafael Nadal (2008) and Andy Murray (2013) have all won the Queen’s-Wimbledon double in the same year.

• The Lawn Tennis Association’s (LTA) mission is to get more people playing tennis more often, and its role is to develop, promote and govern tennis in Britain.

• Aegon is Lead Partner of British Tennis and is helping to transform the sport in this country. They’re supporting young talent through the Aegon FutureStars programme, as well as sponsoring the junior and senior GB Davis and Fed Cup teams and amateur and professional events. Aegon sponsor three world-class grass court tournaments; the Aegon Classic, Aegon International and Aegon Championships and will also sponsor the new WTA and ATP events in Nottingham from 2015. For further information visit www.aegontennis.co.uk

• For more information on the LTA and British tennis, visit: www.LTA.org.uk

EDITORS Note : It is without a doubt one of the staff @10sBalls.com‘s favorite weeks. Everyone fights for the trip and opportunity. Yes , we all know Pancho wins.

Topics: AEGON Championships, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick, Boris Becker, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Jimmy Connors, John Mcenroe, Lleyton Hewitt, Pete Sampras, Queen's Club, Rafael Nadal, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

February 10, 2015 at 9:58 am

LLEYTON #HEWITT GUARANTEED A #WILDCARD FOR FINAL BOW AT @TheQueensClub FOR THE 2015 #AegonChampionships- http://t.co/JQ74Lp8djU #tennis
chaffee_chris says:

February 10, 2015 at 9:58 am

RT @10sBalls_com: LLEYTON #HEWITT GUARANTEED A #WILDCARD FOR FINAL BOW AT @TheQueensClub FOR THE 2015 #AegonChampionships- http://t.co/JQ74…
dusanVemic says:

February 11, 2015 at 12:26 am

RT @10sBalls_com: LLEYTON #HEWITT GUARANTEED A #WILDCARD FOR FINAL BOW AT @TheQueensClub FOR THE 2015 #AegonChampionships- http://t.co/JQ74…