Lleyton Hewitt, former World No. 1 and Australia’s Davis Cup captain since 2016, has often spoken about his former rivals Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, leading to interesting thoughts on the eternal debate between the three: Who is the greatest? This is what he has said about each one.
Hewitt is widely considered as one of the best tennis players of the 2000s. He won two Grand Slam singles titles, 2001 US Open and the 2002 Wimbledon, while also becoming World No. 1 and spending 80 weeks at the top. From the same generation as Federer, he had a high praised for he Swiss star.
After Federer announced his retirement in 2022, Hewitt referred to his old rival as the “greatest of that time and our era,” according to Fox Sports Australia. “But just his win-loss record in the mid-2000s, Roger was nearly unbeatable. It was pretty much only Rafa (Nadal) that could get him, especially on the clay,” he added.
“But most of all he’s been a great ambassador for our sport,” Hewitt said, adding that he deserved to leave the sport on his own terms, after suffering from injuries. “He’s done everything in the sport he could ever dream of.”
Hewitt on Djokovic: ‘There’s going to be no comparison’
If Federer is the greatest of their era, Hewitt has Djokovic as someone who will not have any “comparison” after his career ends. The Serbian star, winner of a record-breaking 24 Grand Slams titles, has shattered almost every stat.
“There’s going to be no comparison at the end of his career in terms of his playing ability and the records that he holds. It’s quite remarkable,” he told fox.sports.com.au about Djokovic in November 2023.
He praised Djokovic’s longevity and his ability to play under pressure, especially after he beat Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to win that year’s ATP Finals. “That’s why he holds all these records, because he’s able to do it in pressure situations against the best players in the world time and again. To defeat a couple of young guys in straight sets in that semi and final was very impressive,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt’s thoughts on Nadal: ‘One of the absolute greatest’
Meanwhile, Hewitt has always had an affinity with Nadal, as they had similar styles of playing. When the Spaniard announced his retirement in 2024, Hewitt told the press, according to journalist Reem Abulleil: “He goes down as one of the absolute greatest.”
He added, “How great a competitor he is, in my opinion, probably second to none, nearly in all sport. As soon as he came along, I played him at a very young age and you could tell he was destined for big things back then.”
Actually, Hewitt famously predicted that Nadal would win a French Open after their first encounter at the Australian Open in 2005, which the Australian won in five sets after almost four hours. “I think I said at the time this kid is going to win the French Open some day. I didn’t realize it was going to be the next year,“ he told The Sit-Down podcast on January 2025.
Hewitt’s head-to-head against the ‘Big Three’
Hewitt and Federer are from the same generation, often facing each other in juniors. Their coaches, Darren Cahill and Peter Carter, respectively, were friends, and they often joked that they would be the next rivalry, according to journalist Christopher Clarey. They were right.
Hewitt and Federer faced each other 27 times, with Hewitt winning 9 times. Most of those wins came at the start of their career, when the Australian had the edge. Except for two in 2010 and 2014, in their last encounter.
Meanwhile, he faced Nadal 11 times, winning four matches. Following the same pattern against Federer, his four wins came before 2007. On the other hand, Hewitt won his first match against Djokovic in 2006, and then lost the following six.
Hewitt’s remarkable career
Apart from his two Grand Slams singles titles, Hewitt won a doubles major at the 2000 US Open. He also won two Davis Cup titles with Australia. In total, Hewitt won 30 singles titles and 3 doubles. He was also the youngest man to reach No. 1 in the ATP singles rankings, at the age of 20 years, 8 months and 26 days until Carlos Alcaraz (19 years, 4 months) became No. 1 in 2022.