If you are not afraid to work hard just about anything is possible. Just ask Lleyton Hewitt (former world number one) who recently won his first tournament since 2007. Over Hewitt's career he has won 27 tournaments on the ATP tour, including at least one on every court surface, and despite injuries or not making it back to the winners circle until now he has persisted. Last August, Hewitt underwent hip surgery, an extensive procedure for anyone but particularly for a tennis player of his stature. He is only 5'11" and weighs 170 Ibs. His game is based around relentless aggression, fitness, and great footwork. This has allowed him to become one of the best counter-punches in tennis where he was able to retrieve nearly every ball with very few unforced errors. What makes his recent achievement even more impressive is that another former world number one, Gustavo Kuerten, underwent similar hip surgery in 2005, but was unable to regain his top playing form and was forced to retire last year at the young age of 29. Hewitt is an outstanding athlete and has managed to sustain a career that started very young when he won his first tournament at the age of 16 in his hometown of Adelaide, Australia. Other notable achievements are his wins at the US Open in 2001 beating Pete Sampras in the final playing almost flawless tennis; he won Wimbledon in 2002, and was a finalist in the 2004 US Open losing to Roger Federer 6-0, 7-6, 6-0, where Federer won his first of five US Open's and is currently the defending champion.

At the beginning of this year Hewitt was ranked 88 in the world, and now after his recent win he is slowly working his way back up the rankings and is currently ranked 57. The game of tennis has come a long way since Hewitt was number one in the world. With the onset of a more power-based game where players can hit outright winners from anywhere on the court players like Hewitt have had to change their approach to the game. He has improved his physical strength to be able to maintain his particular game style, although he may still be challenged by the likes of Blake, Federer, and Safin who hit an aggressive ball.

Hewitt is one match away from reaching the 500 winning mark, an achievement only held by two other active players, Roger Federer and Carlos Moya. Hewitt's career win/loss match record is 499/169, a 74.7% winning percentage. This is amazing. Over Hewitt's career he has earned over $17,821,000 in prize money, not too shabby. So hard work really does payoff! Even if the environment around you changes it should not stop you from working on all the core strengths and weaknesses you need to address in order to strive for your best.
 
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Matt Copland