Lleyton Hewitt grew up in Adelaide, Australia but returns to his roots in Newport Tuesday.
 
The former world No. 1's first sporting love was Australian Rules Football — he played until age 13 and once dreamed of a pro career in the game — and grass remains the 2002 Wimbledon champion's surface of choice. Hewitt faces young American Ryan Harrison in his Newport opener at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships.
 
In 2001, Hewitt became the youngest man — and first Australian in the history of the ATP computer rankings —  to finish as year-end world No. 1. He opened the 2014 season defeating old rival Roger Federer to capture his 29th career title in Brisbane.
 
In an eventful career, Hewitt has been engaged to Kim Clijsters and caddied for Greg Norman. He is one of the few men to hold a winning record on grass against Hall of Famer Pete Sampras, and he is one of a handful of Open era champions to win U.S. Open titles in both singles and doubles. Hewitt is now the subject of a new book.
 
In "Facing Hewitt", author Scoop Malinowski talks to several current and former champions, who detail their experiences facing the fiery, fist-pumping Aussie. In this excerpt from the book, Greg Rusedski, Vince Spadea and Taylor Dent share their memorable encounters with Hewitt.
 
For more on Malinowski's book, please visit this link.

 
FACING HEWITT (Excerpt)
By Scoop Malinowski
 

"He did things that aren't possible."
 
Greg Rusedski:  "My first memory of Hewitt was in Adelaide when he beat Andre Agassi in the semifinal. Then I saw him the week after in Australia. But he's always been a guy that if you had to have someone play for your life, he's the guy you'd want to play. Kind of reminiscent of the Jimmy Connors of old. A guy who maximized everything he possibly can and just loves the game and wants to keep on competing no matter what. He's a walking miracle right now with that toe surgery and all the surgeries he's had, to be playing the way that he is. He absolutely loves the game."
 
Question: What was your most memorable match with Hewitt?
 
Greg Rusedski:  "Probably the ones that I won. I beat him in Indianapolis one year. I lost to him a few times at Queens Club. But we always had really close, tight matches against Lleyton. He's just a great competitor and someone who always wants to win."
 
Question:  Can you share an on or off court anecdote that captures Hewitt's essence?
 
Greg Rusedski:  "[Laughs] Let me see...that captures his essence...Probably all of those shouts of  'COME ON' every two seconds is the essence of him and then copying that thing that Mats Wilander used to do, his fist pump at winning those matches. But I just think the essence of Hewitt is just winning matches that he shouldn't win. Just doing things that aren't possible. Basically, between Sampras and Federer's domination, he was the man in the middle who really got the number one and then maximized everything he could. So it just shows you what sheer determination and desire can do."
 
Hewitt leads series 4-3
 
1999  Nottingham  QF  Rusedski  64 75
2000  Basel   QF  Hewitt  76 62
2000  Stuttgart  QF  Hewitt 64 64
2001  San Jose  QF  Rusedski  57 61  64
2001  Queens Club   QF   Hewitt  64 64
2002  Indianapolis  R16   Rusedski  76 64
2005  Cincinnati Masters  R32  Hewitt  16 75 64
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"It just blew my mind."
 
Taylor Dent: "I saw him in the juniors. We grew up playing in the juniors. My first memory is kind of out of nowhere. He was always a good junior player but out of nowhere he got a wildcard into Adelaide and he ended up winning the thing. And he beat a lot of good players on the way to the title. It just blew my mind."
 
Question: He beat Agassi and Stoltenberg.
 
Taylor Dent:  "Yeah. At the time it was an unbelievable win."
 
Question: Describe what it was like to play him?
 
Taylor Dent:  "It was tough for me. It was a disaster of a match up. I played him a lot of times. I only ever got him once. Actually in his hometown of Adelaide. And he was just tough. I liked attacking. And he was very accurate with his shots. He was able to dip it down at my feet. When I came to the net, he was able to lob it over my head. It posed a lot of problems for my style of game."
 
Question: You must have played incredibly well the day you beat him?
 
Taylor Dent:  "You know what? It's interesting. The courts were quick and I kind of changed the tactics a little bit. I ended up staying back at the baseline and just kind of chipping and waiting for a golden opportunity to come in. And he was a little bit off. He didn't pass quite as well as normal. And that's kind of the way how it goes."
 
Question:  Do you have a memory or anecdote that captures Hewitt's essence, on or off court?
 
Taylor Dent:  "Off court, for me, he was always great. There was the stage when I was — I was getting good enough coming up to where I was being considered for Davis Cup. And so obviously with my background — my dad's Australian — he gave me a call up to try and lobby for me to come play for the Australian team. And he was very nice on the phone and that's kind of how he was. A good guy, a straight-forward guy. He doesn't really beat-around-the-bush too much and I appreciate that."
 
Hewitt leads series  5-1
 
2001  Wimbledon  R64  Hewitt  16 75 63 67 63
2001  Indianapolis  R32  Hewitt 62 76
2003  Scottsdale  SF  Hewitt 62 64
2005  Adelaide  QF  Dent 76 63
2005  Wimbledon  R16   Hewitt 64 64 67 63
2005  US Open  R32  Hewitt 63 36 67 62 75
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"I expected to steamroll the kid."
 
Vince Spadea: "I played against Hewitt in the 1998 quarters at Adelaide, his hometown in the south of Australia, when he was a 16-year-old wild card. Everyone was wondering how he got a wild card in the first place, because he was like No. 500 in the world at the time and nobody had ever heard of him. Some of the other Australian players were mystified. He had just played a Satellite, which is an even lower pro tournament than a Challenger, that has since been mostly phased out in favor of Futures, the week before Adelaide, and he had lost to a nobody. Our match was a night match, center court. I see this little guy with long blond hair who looks like a surfer, walk out on the court. I figure: 'I'm in the semis. This kid is 16 and he looked weak, inexperienced, unrehearsed, and unpolished."

"The match begins and he's holding his own. He keeps on hitting balls in the court. I wasn't playing strongly enough or consistently enough to overpower him even though I've got him outweighed by about forty pounds. I end up losing the first set 7-5. Now I'm thinking: 'What does this kid think he's doing?' He didn't miss one shot long the entire set. My dad, who was coaching me, said after the match, 'He missed into the net and he missed wide but he never missed past the baseline.' Whenever Hewitt won a big point he screeched out, 'COME ON' and punched the air with his fist. I thought that was a little annoying and cocky of him but I didn't let it bother or intimidate me. I won the second set 6-3. I had been working with Jim Pierce (coach and father of Mary Pierce), so I was in great shape. I had been killing myself in training. I expected to steamroll the kid in the third set. But instead, he put his game into another gear and beat me soundly 6-1 to win the match."
 
"The next day I was sitting eating breakfast with my dad in the player's cafeteria and Brad Gilbert, coach of Andre Agassi, walked up to us and completely ignored me. He approached my dad and said, 'Your son had Hewitt last night but he choked. Andre will show you how to handle the kid tonight.'"
 
"Of course, Hewitt straight-setted Agassi 76 76 and then went on to win the tournament. Hewitt has gone on to win almost twenty million dollars in his career, along with a Wimbledon and U.S. Open title. He's a true warrior on the court. He doesn't get fazed by disappointment or failure. He doesn't worry about if he's hitting the ball great or if he's winning or losing, he just enjoys the battle. The only other player who battled as successfully as Hewitt was Jimmy Connors. Hewitt will never give up and he doesn't mind if he has to win hard or easy. He's one of the greatest competitors in tennis."
 
Hewitt leads series 7-0
 
 
1998   Adelaide  QF  Hewitt  75 36 61
1999   Lyon   SF   Hewitt  63 63
2003   Indian Wells Masters  Hewitt 75 61
2006   Sydney  R32   Hewitt  26 75 63 
2006   San Jose  SF  Hewitt 63 64
2006   Washington DC  Hewitt   R32 67 76 64
2007   Las Vegas  RR  Hewitt  63 63