Lleyton Hewitt has been nominated among a group of tennis legends to be the next class inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
"It's an incredible honour," Hewitt told Nine's Today show from Melbourne on Tuesday morning.
"It's something when you start out in your career you don't really focus on too much, but standing here at Rod Laver Arena where I've played so many epic matches over the years, and in Australian tennis we have such a rich history in the sport as well, it's a great honour to be one of the nominees for next year."
Joining Hewitt on the ballot announced for the Hall's Class of 2021 are Jonas Bjorkman, Sergi Brugera, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Lisa Raymond, and the late Dennis Van der Meer.
Billie Jean King and the other members of the 'Original 9' who laid the groundwork for the women's professional tennis tour are also the first group nominated together for the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Hewitt was at 20 the youngest ever world no.1 in the ATP era in 2001, and won two grand slams, with a total of 30 career titles during his lengthy tennis career.
Hewitt said he found out about the nomination earlier this year, and was aware he was up against a very impressive group of tennis legends.
"I got a call from the great Sam Smith, the president of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a couple of months ago to inform me I was going to be going on the ballot for the '20-'21 class.
"There's a lot of fantastic nominees on there as well, [like] one of the players I grew up with and had a great rivalry with - Juan Carlos Ferrero from Spain.
"But for me it's such a special thing, because tennis has been such a big part of my life for so many years now. I still enjoy going out there and giving back as the Davis Cup captain, and try to help that next generation of players coming through."
When asked if his induction was a "sure thing", Hewitt was modest, but urged his fans to show their support in the public vote.
"There's no sure things in sport," he told Nine.
"It's pretty cool, in October over three or four weeks they're going to have fan voting as well which plays a small part in decision-making of who gets inducted in 2021, so hopefully all my fans can go out there and throw a few votes in."
This week marks the 50th anniversary of when King, elected to the Hall in 1987 for her accomplishments on the court, and eight other players - Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kerry Melville Reid, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey and Valerie Ziegenfuss - signed $1 contracts to participate in the first women-only tennis tournament, taking a stand against the disparity in prize money between men and women at the time.
That group and Van der Meer, who advocated for a universal teaching method in tennis, were nominated in the Contributor Category. Van der Meer died last year.
https://twitter.com/TennisHalloFame/status/1308120860881047552The nominees in the Player Category are Raymond, an American who won 11 Grand Slam titles in doubles or mixed doubles; Hewitt, an Australian who won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 and was ranked No. 1; Ferrero, a Spaniard who won the 2003 French Open and reached No. 1; Bruguera, a Spaniard who won the French Open in 1993 and 1994; and Bjorkman, a Swede who won nine Grand Slam doubles titles and was ranked No. 1 in doubles.
The full ballot now goes to the official voting group - which includes tennis journalists, historians and Hall of Fame members - and fans can vote online in the Player Category from October 1-25.
Inductees will be announced early next year. The induction ceremony is scheduled for July 17.
- with AP
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