Hewitt Arrives a Changed Man

The Zen of Indian Wells and art of personal maintenance have been in full force this week.

Players are coming into the interview room at the Pacific Life Open relaxed and rejuvenated. And some even bearing advice: one youngster, Sesil Karatantcheva of Bulgaria, warned a reporter to use plenty of sunscreen in the 90-degree plus conditions.

With the men’s event starting with main-draw play today and the women still in the first round, it’s been more about past and present relationships and growth than forehands and backhands.

Former tournament champion Kim Clijsters of Belgium already had her turn on the couch, so to speak, so it made sense for her former fiance, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, a two-time winner here, to take center stage in the interview room Thursday.

She said. He said.

Clijsters said she has matured after their October split. So, how about him?

“I don’t know. Haven’t I always been mature?” Hewitt asked, smiling.

“I feel confident within myself. You learn a lot about yourself in different situations. The end of last year was a tough situation mentally. That’s one reason why I hold my performance at the Tennis Masters Cup [in Houston] in such high regard because I was as mentally tough as I’ve ever been.”

He lost to No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland in the Houston final. Here, they would not meet until the final, having been placed in opposite sides of the draw. Defending champion and top-seeded Federer is in the same half of the draw as No. 4 Marat Safin of Russia. No. 2 Hewitt and No. 3 Andy Roddick could meet in the semifinals, if form holds.

Roddick has No. 7 Carlos Moya of Spain in his quarter, and Hewitt has No. 5 Guillermo Coria of Argentina and No. 9 Andre Agassi in his.

There have been dramatic changes in Hewitt’s life since he lost in the Australian Open final in January to Safin, having carried the weight of an expectant and sports-crazed nation. Hours after losing, he proposed to his new girlfriend, actress Bec Cartwright.

Now, this week, he said he wanted “more control” over his off-court career and hired Australian-based management after a long-term relationship with American-based Octagon. Though his father, Glynn, apparently told an Australian reporter Octagon would still have a role, Lleyton indicated otherwise.

“It’s much like changing coaches,” he said. “When you have that relationship, it’s not easy to do.”

His Davis Cup teammate Wayne Arthurs joked that Hewitt was becoming more Australian, noting the change in girlfriends and management.

Hewitt, for his part, did not seem to be concerned about running into Clijsters in the players’ lounge or practice courts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

“It’s something you’re going to go through,” said Hewitt, who will face either Robby Ginepri or Jose Acasuso of Argentina in the second round. “It’s going to be different than seeing any other player. Then again, we both have big careers to look forward to and have big goals. Just do our normal thing. There’s no bad blood at all or bad feelings.”

Hewitt just arrived in Southern California after the Davis Cup matches over the weekend in Sydney against Austria. He spoke about the inherent problems of a system in which the defending champion (Spain) was knocked out in the first round about three months after winning the Cup.

Australia lost in the first round in 2004, just 70 days after winning the Davis Cup in 2003.

“It’s pointless talking to them any more about it,” Hewitt said of the International Tennis Federation. “At the end of the day, my career or Roddick’s career or whoever, nothing is going to change in our careers. I’ve stated my case as hard as anyone.... If you don’t want the best players to play, then keep going the way it’s going.”

Spain was joined on the sideline by the United States, which lost to Croatia, 3-2, at Carson. Croatia took an unassailable 3-1 lead on Ivan Ljubicic’s compelling five-set victory over Roddick on Sunday.

Roddick, who will open against either Fernando Verdasco of Spain or qualifier Wayne Odesnik, was doing his best to try to move on.

“You have to do your best to put it behind you,” Roddick said.

So, has he done so?

“No,” Roddick said.

One problem. One hard-serving Croatian keeps popping up around Roddick.

“Even today, I had to practice next to Ljubicic and it just keeps running through your mind. I got to talk to the practice court desk people,” Roddick said, smiling.

“I was playing great until he came along.”

*

American wild-card entrants Jessica Kirkland and Angela Haynes won in the first round. Kirkland defeated qualifier Galina Voskoboeva of Russia, 6-2, 0-6, 7-6 (4); Haynes defeated Mara Santangelo of Italy, 6-4, 6-4.

Another wild card, Alexa Glatch of Newport Beach, had a tough Indian Wells debut. Veteran Jill Craybas beat the 15-year-old Glatch, 6-1, 6-2.

*

Featured Matches

Today at the Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden:

STADIUM COURT, Starting at 10 a.m.

* Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) vs. Kim Clijsters (Belgium).

* Tathiana Garbin (Italy) vs. Amelie Mauresmo (France).

* Juan Carlos Ferrero (Spain) vs. Igor Andreev (Russia).

* Abigail Spears vs. Elena Dementieva (Russia).

Not before 7:30 p.m.

* James Blake vs Alberto Martin (Spain).

STADIUM 2, Starting at 10 a.m.

* Jeff Morrison vs. Gael Monfils (France).

* Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) vs. Eva Birnerova (Czech Republic).

* Max Mirnyi (Belarus) vs. Xavier Malisse (Belgium).

* Gregory Carraz (France) vs. Mark Philippoussis (Australia).