“But at the time, I was actually considering it" - The iconic match which persuaded Lleyton Hewitt to stick with tennis over Aussie rules football

Lleyton Hewitt had a scintillating career on the sport. Amassing two singles Grand Slam titles along with a brace of ATP Final triumphs in 2000 and 2001, he is remembered fondly by many tennis fans, However, this could have been very different if he transferred over to a different sport - Australian Football League (AFL).

Aussie rules football is notoriously played in Australia. While it involves kicking a ball like football, there is not a lot of similarities. Players are allowed to use their hands to carry the ball as they look to kick it between the four goal posts. It has aspects of rugby and football in it, with very little similarities with tennis.

This makes it even more surprising that Hewitt though about committing to a radical change of profession. It makes more sense when you realised that it was a huge ambition of his and a fun hobby he enjoyed playing while growing up. “That was in my blood, that’s what I wanted to do as a young kid,” Hewitt said.

His father and uncle played the sport to a decent level, with it calling out Hewitt's name as the next in the family to compete. He had been a very talented player, but was forced to choose between tennis and Australian Rules. He chose tennis, and the rest is history.

After a first-round exit at the 2003 Wimbledon where he was the defending champion, he succumbed the number one ranking he had held for 80 of the prior 82 weeks, he was knocked off his pedestal by Andre Agassi. This made him contemplate what was next.

This was when he contacted Port Adelaide coach Mark Williams. He was a family friend of Hewitt, and subsequently tried to persuade him to join his team. However, there was a stumbling block, Hewitt's hatred of Port Adelaide. “I grew up absolutely hating the Power, the Port Adelaide Magpies,” he stated.

Despite this, he was very tempted by it. “But at the time, I was actually considering it. I didn’t love the contract and the money. He (Williams) ended up giving me a few weeks to think about it.”

What followed was a fantastic victory over Roger Federer in the Davis Cup Finals. Australia faced off Switzerland in the semi-final. The Aussie's had romped past Great Britain 4-1 and Sweden 5-0, but were about to face their toughest challenge. For Hewitt, he needed to defeat the reigning Wimbledon champion Federer. After finding himself two sets down, Hewitt produced a marvellous comeback to defeat the future great and help his country go on to win the 2003 Davis Cup.

The victory proved to be a huge turning point in his career, as he committed to tennis and not Aussie Rules. “It was one of my greatest victories and I called Choco (Williams) and said ‘no’,” Hewitt said.

While his career was not as successful from then, he was still a firm threat in the major events. He reached two more Grand Slam finals, losing the 2004 US Open final to Federer and the 2005 Australian Open final to Marat Safin. As his career progressed, he could not find the same level he once produced, ultimately retiring from the sport in 2016 before a brief return to doubles from 2018-2020.

It is a huge what-if story, though. If Hewitt lost that tie to Federer, would he have hung up his racket for a different sport? Or would he have stuck with tennis. Either way, Hewitt's decision to prolong his tennis career was ultimately based off one very famous match.