“The Hall of Fame seemed like something that was so far away from me ever being part of,” Hewitt said during the induction ceremony. “It was never something I ever thought about as a player, and it was always, I thought, for the people that were my idols growing up and the absolute legends of the sport.”

In a stirring induction speech, the 41-year-old took fans from around the world through his journey to the podium in Rhode Island. When Hewitt was a boy, his favourite sport was AFL football, which was played by members of his family, including his father, Glynn Hewitt.

But following a period of research, Hewitt’s parents found a tennis coach for their son in Peter Smith, who had a weekly slot available at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. “Rusty” never looked back.

One of the most important meetings of his life came as a teen, when he was introduced to Australian legend John Newcombe at his camp in Texas. Hewitt asked to interview Newcombe for a school project.

“The biggest thing he told me was about the famous Kipling poem ‘If’, and especially about the famous two lines that are written above the walkway out on Centre Court at Wimbledon,” Hewitt said. “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same.”

No matter the hurdle Hewitt faced or the high he celebrated, the Australian gave his all. Regardless of the challenge, he tried his best to meet and exceed it.

Hewitt became the youngest No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history at age 20 in 2001. The gritty right-hander captured two major singles titles, two year-end No. 1 finishes, two Nitto ATP Finals trophies and led Australia to two Davis Cup titles.

Before Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic ascended to the top of the sport, Hewitt held top spot for 80 weeks, good for 10th-most in history. Even when those stars made their mark, “Rusty” scratched and clawed, proving he would never back down.

“I feel fortunate that I was able to play across different generations,” Hewitt said. “I was able to be on the same court as my heroes that I looked up to, like Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras, and then go on and compete against three of the greatest tennis players our sport has ever seen in Roger Federer, Rafael Nadaland Novak Djokovic.”

Hewitt was introduced by Australian legends Newcombe and Tony Roche, the latter of whom flew across the world to join his mentee for a special weekend.

“The first meeting I had with Lleyton was at a charity event in Adelaide,” Roche said. “He must have been 12 or 13. I was even impressed with his game at that early age. I was more impressed with his mullet haircut really. All the Adelaide kids seemed to have these great mullet haircuts. But Lleyton, you could tell, was going to be something special.”

Novak Djokovic produced a returning masterclass to surge to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) victory against Nick Kyrgios in Sunday’s final at Wimbledon, where the top seed claimed his fourth consecutive crown at the grass-court major. 

Rallying from dropping the first set for the third straight match, Djokovic claimed a seventh title to draw level with Pete Sampras‘ mark at the All England Club. The 35-year-old Djokovic is now just one behind Roger Federer’s record of eight Wimbledon triumphs, and one Grand Slam title behind Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 major crowns. 

“I have lost words for what this tournament, this trophy means to me, my team, my family,” said Djokovic at the trophy presentation. “I’ve said this many times. It always has been and always will be the most special tournament in my heart, the one that motivated me, inspired me to start playing tennis in a small mountain resort in Serbia where my parents used to run a restaurant. 

“I was four or five years old and I saw Pete Sampras win his first Wimbledon in 1993. I asked my Dad and Mum to buy me a racquet, and my first image of tennis was grass and Wimbledon. I always dreamed of coming here, just playing in this court, and then realising the childhood dream of winning this trophy. Every single time it gets more meaningful and more special, so I’m very blessed and very thankful to be standing here with the trophy.” 

Most Grand Slam Titles 

After some scintillating Kyrgios shotmaking took him to the opening set on Centre Court, Djokovic found his rhythm on return to take the upper hand in an intriguing clash of game styles. Despite his opponent firing 30 aces in a three-hour, one-minute encounter, the top seed was clinical in taking his chances, most notably when he crucially broke Kyrgios’ serve after the Australian had led 40/0 at 4-4 in the third set. A nerveless showing from Djokovic in the fourth-set tie-break, his first of the tournament, sealed the victory and extended his winning streak at SW19 to 28 matches. 

Although his ability to counter Kyrgios’ huge serving was key to Djokovic’s win, the Serbian was just as efficient with his own delivery. The top seed fired 15 aces and won 83 per cent (62/75) of points behind his first serve, compared to Kyrgios’ 70 per cent (64/91).

It marks another hard-fought triumph for Djokovic this week in London, where he overhauled a two-sets-to-love deficit to defeat Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals and rallied from dropping the first set to Cameron Norrie in the semi-finals. The Serbian also defeated Soonwoo Kwon, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Miomir Kecmanovic and Tim van Rijthoven this fortnight in London.