TNT Sports
A dream come true
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Published 28/01/2005 at 22:59 GMT
Lleyton Hewitt has fulfilled a boyhood dream just getting to the Australian Open final. On Sunday night, the 23-year-old will take on fourth seed Marat Safin for the chance to win the major's centenary edition. "I think everyone knows how much I love play
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"The Australian Open obviously means a lot to me," he said after his 2-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 semi-final victory over Andy Roddick .
"I have some memories of going out to Court 1 out there and watching [Ivan] Lendl and [Tony Roche] Rochey train early mornings out there.
"I used to go to a lot of Pat Cash's matches, Mats Wilander, they were my favorite players. Yeah, I saw a lot of tennis here."
Hewitt's parents used to take their son from their Adelaide home to Melbourne every year to watch the Open but he paid his own way in 1997 at the age of 15 when he became the youngest player ever to qualify for the tournament.
It wasn't the start he wanted. Sergi Bruguera knocked him out in the first round.
SHOW-OFF
Oh to be good enough to compete at a national level in two sports.
Scott Draper made his professional debut at the Victorian Open carding a seven-over-par 79 in the first round, and then swapped his clubs for his tennis racket returning to Melbourne Park.
There the 30-year-old Australian partnered compatriot Australian Samantha Stosur to a 7-5 6-3 victory over Israeli Andy Ram and Conchita Martinez of Spain to reach the mixed doubles final.
Had Draper carded lower than 79, he would have had to decide over competing in the third round at Woodlands or play the major final.
"I suppose it's a good thing that I won't be in contention here on Sunday," said Draper, who plays tennis left-handed but golf right-handed.
"All in all it's a bit disappointing but now I can concentrate on tennis."
A TOUCHING TRIBUTE
The fairytale didn't end on a winning note, but for Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu the fact that they competed as a pair in a major doubles final was beyond their expectation.
Davenport broke down in tears as she paid tribute to Morariu, three-and-a-half years after the 26-year-old was diagnosed with leukaemia.
Rookie pairing Svetlana Kuznetsova and Alicia Molik took the spoils, but Davenport was just thankful that her partner had been able to make a full recovery.
"Four years ago, my partner Corina and I stood here after losing a tough three-set match," she told the crowd. But about four months later, I got a call from her parents telling me that Corina was in a late stage of leukaemia.
“So for us to stand here today is pretty remarkable. We're extremely proud to be the runners-up."
This triggered Morariu to cry, before going on says: "It was a really special day.
"It's been a long three-and-a-half years. I have the luxury of looking back to what I was doing laying in a hospital bed, fighting for my life. Tennis pales in comparison to that. That makes it more fun and I feel like I have a second chance.
“Maybe I can't play singles or some things are a little bit different than I would have liked them to be. But the bottom line is, I'm very lucky to be here and to be able to compete."
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