Comment: Can Hewitt do it?
Will it be Lleyton Hewitt's year
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Thursday, 17, Jun 2010 08:40
After Lleyton Hewitt's shock defeat of Roger Federer on grass last week, James Christie asks whether it will be an Australian who rules Wimbledon in 2010.
When Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon in 2002, TV pundit John Lloyd made a dramatic forecast.
Speaking in the half-Australian accent beloved of English ex-players, Lloyd predicted that "this guy can dominate for years to come".
Even at the time the tip seemed wild. Hewitt was a player who had to sweat to win every point. He had no obvious weapons in his armoury and could not pull an ace out of the hat when in trouble, the way that many of his fellow pros could.
You sensed that someone would emerge to stop him dominating the game. And it wasn't just anyone who emerged, it was Roger Federer.
While Hewitt collapsed backwards behind the baseline when he won the All England title in 2002, Federer sank to his knees near the net after claiming the crown in 2003. The locations of the celebrations were apt: Hewitt the plucky counter-puncher, Federer, initially at least, a serve-and-volleyer.
Federer's arrival on the scene marked a quantum leap in the quality of the game similar to the one that occurred when John McEnroe's adoption of the graphite racquet signalled the death knell for wooden racquets in 1983.
It would take someone truly special to check Federer's progress. And that person didn't seem to be Hewitt.
While the Swiss legend's often effortless successes have met with universal acclaim, Hewitt's harder-earned triumphs have had a more mixed reaction.
Hewitt's on-court demeanour and reputation seem to provoke a Marmite-style 'love it or hate it' reaction. While Hewitt's compatriot Pat Rafter exuded a Home and Away-style laid-back charm during his career, Hewitt's bulging-eye determination is strictly Prisoner Cell Block H.
Rafter would shout out "Sorry mate" to opponents when a dodgy ball toss meant he had to start his service action again. There are no such breezy utterances from Hewitt as he bites his lip and eyeballs his opponent before each rally.
His trademark "Come on!" yell is often accompanied with a clenched fist gesture which makes Tim Henman's celebration seem as weak as a country vicar's handshake.
Allegations of racism involving a line judge during an epic encounter with James Blake at a US Open match took him a long time to live down. Later, a broken engagement with popular lady player Kim Clijsters saw him get more headlines off the court than on it as his form dipped.
The Davis Cup star's all-action style, which seems to involve chasing down every ball, has inevitably taken its toll on his body. Operations on both hips have led to lengthy absences from the tour.
But the green grass is a more forgiving surface on limbs and joints than the red dirt of the clay court circuit or the green asphalt of the US Open, where the scampering Hewitt won his first Grand Slam title in 2001 with a brilliant victory over Pete Sampras.
Last year's Wimbledon was a good one for Hewitt as he surpassed expectations to beat the higher-seeded Juan Martin del Potro before succumbing to the eventual runner-up Andy Roddick in an epic quarter-final.
The way that Roddick went on to nearly end a lengthy losing streak against Federer in the final could inspire Hewitt this year.
Federer was a hot favourite to win the Gerry Weber Open last week. It is the grass court warm-up tournament that the Swiss player always wins before Wimbledon.
Seeing Hewitt across the net in the final must have been reassuring. He always beats him too.
Not this year. Hewitt beat him in three sets, his first win over his nemesis for 15 matches.
The result had a distinctly 2002 feel to it. That was the year before Federer's iron rule of lawn tennis began. It was also a World Cup year. The year that Lleyton Hewitt lifted the Wimbledon trophy under a cloudless sky.
Could the same man be about to scratch a seven-year itch?