Stella Artois Championships: Semifinal Preview
By Barry Newcombe
Andy Roddick v Lleyton Hewitt: Hewitt leads 3-0
A first meeting on grass between two of the favourites for Wimbledon gives even more spice to the Stella Artois semi-final between two former champions here at Queens Club in Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. Whichever way you look at this clash of two men who have each held the world No 1 ranking, the match itself promises a succession of dramatic moments as two of the best fast court practitioners in the game seek supremacy. If speed was everything, Roddick gave himself a critical boost by lifting his world record serving speed by just one mile an hour to 153 mph in yesterday's quarter-final against Paradorn Srichaphan. Any repeats will be a bonus to Roddick's power game which is almost perfectly constructed to take the benefits from a grass court, this being their first meeting on the surface. Roddick says there is no better preparation for Wimbledon than playing a player like Lleyton Hewitt and says he is excited at the prospect. Hewitt, with a game equipped to cope with big serving, says he is "doing all the little things pretty well" and rated his current form as "seven on a scale of ten. " Obviously there will not be much between the 21-year-old Roddick and the 23-year-old Hewitt, at least when they start. Roddick's world ranking is better (without relating to anything that has happened this week) and his 10-1 record on grass last summer is part of an argument in his favour. He has never beaten Hewitt. Previous matches 2001 Miami Ericsson Open quarter-final Hewitt 6-3 6-2 2001 French Open third round Hewitt 6-7(6) 6-4 2-2 ret 2001 US Open quarter final Hewitt 6-7(5)6-3 6-4 6-4.
Verdict: Roddick to reach the final for a second year in a row
June 11 Roddick Roars into Semis; Hewitt Awaits
Top seed and defending champion Andy Roddick broke his own
world record serve to fire his way into the semifinals of the Stella Artois
Championships. Roddick's 153 mph ace in the second game of the second set put
the American on his way to a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Thailand's Paradorn
Srichaphan. His win sets up a mouthwatering semifinal against Lleyton Hewitt,
who moved a step closer to claiming his fourth Stella Artois title with a 6-3,
7-5 victory over Russian Igor Andreev. Hewitt has now won 20 of his last 21
matches at The Queen's Club, and has a 3-0 head-to-head record against Roddick.
This will be their first meeting since the US Open quarterfinal in 2001.
Eurosport.com
Live Commentary
Lleyton Hewitt def Jonathan Marray 7-6(2), 7-6(8)
(read from the bottom up)
19:00 Thanks for joining us today and remember to join us tomorrow at 14:00
cet for Quarter-Finals action
18:53 Hewitt will next face Russia's Igor Andreev for a semifinal spot!
Andreev beat Agassi in the second round
18:51 Game, set and match Hewitt 7-6 7-6 (10-8)! What a match from Marray who
didn't lose focus during the whole match and threatened Hewitt the whole time
18:51 Hewitt's return was too good : 10-8
18:50 Ace Hewitt: 9-8! 5th Match point
18:50 Winner Hewitt: 8-8
18:49 Ace Marray: 8-7
18:48 Marray not afraid save another match point at the net : 7-7
18:47 Backhand winner Hewitt: 7-6 ! 4th match point Hewitt
18:47 What a volley from Marray to save another match point: 6-6
18:46 What a return from Hewitt at such key moment: 6-5
18:46 Ace Marray : 5-5
18:45 Ace Hewitt: 5-4
18:45 Ace Hewitt: 4-4
18:44 Ace Marray: 4-3
18:44 Ace Marray: 3-3
18:42 Chip and charge Marray: 2-3 ! Marray breaks back
18:42 Perfect lob by Hewitt and a loud COME ON!!! : 1-3
18:41 Ace Marray: 1-2
18:41 Winning return Hewitt: * 2-0 Mini break
18:41 Ace Hewitt: 1-0
18:40 What a mind! Marray saves two match points and forces Hewitt to play a
second tie-break
18:38 Two unforced errors and a lob by Hewitt... Two Match points for the 6th
seed
18:35 Hewitt won his last two service game easily
18:33 Good job Marray who once again resists the pressure to level at 5-5
18:32 First two missed volleys by Marray: 30-30
18:29 5-4 Hewitt: Marray will be under pressure even more this time to try to
level at 5-5
18:25 Marray resists the pressure and levels: 4-4! Good spirit showed by World
number 277
18:23 4-3 Hewitt... Next game will be vital for Marray as Hewitt will maintain
a high pressure on the return to try to break and then serve for the match
18:21 You could [have] thought that Marray would lose focus after droping the
first set with so much opportunities but not at all... Marray still volleying
perfectly and forces Hewitt to play his best
18:16 Marray's volleys are just perfect! Marray levels 2-2
18:13 Hewitt holds serve and leads 2-1... Marray still in close contact with
2002 Wimbledon champion
18:08 Solid serve by Hewitt who now leads 1-0 in the second set
18:05 Difficult task now awaits Marray ahead of the second set
18:04 Hewitt clinches the first set 7-6 (7-2)! Marray lost his concentartion
after the 12th game where he had 6 set points... Hewitt played on his
experience to clinch the set
18:04 Solid serve Hewitt: 7-2
18:03 Nice serve Marray: 2-6
18:03 Ace Hewitt: 6-1
18:03 Ace Hewitt: 5-1
18:01 Volley winner Marray: 1-4
18:01 Missed Volley by Marray: 0-4
18:00 Ace Hewitt: 3-0
18:00 Passing shot winner Heiwtt: 2-0
17:59 Unforcerd error Marray: 1-0 Hewitt mini break
17:59 What a fight put by Hewitt who earns the right to play a tie-break
saving 6 set points
17:57 A drop shot from Hewitt and back to deuce
17:56 Nice volley once again for Marray: 6th set point for World number 277
17:56 5th set point saved by Hewitt!!!
17:52 Marray goes for it! passes well and third break point and set point at
the same time
17:51 Hewitt faces two break points
17:50 Hewitt's passing shot are not deep enough, so Marray has time to come at
the net and put Hewitt under pressure
17:48 Marray is very impressive at the net... Managed to put pressure on
Hewitt who will be forced to serve to stay in the set
17:35 Nice drop shot volleys by Marray: World number 277 leads now 4-3
17:33 Hewitt finally find his rythmn, Marray has to serve even better if he
wants to have the edge in this match
17:29 Marray given a scare... Had to save a break point, Hewitt helped missing
an easy lob... Marray leads 3-2
17:25 Hewitt levels : 2-2
17:23 Marray too tentative on his serve while Hewitt returns well enough to
take his break back
17:19 A poor service game by Hewitt (Two double-faults) and Joanathan Marray
breaks ! What a start from World number 277
17:18 World number 277 Jonathan Marray of Great Britain plays a top 10 player
for the first time
17:16 Joanathan Marray has nothing to lose against 2002 Wimbledon champion
Lleyton Hewitt and storms to the net to open the scoreboard
17:03 Coming up next: Hewitt v Marray
Hewitt Hangs Tough Against Marray
Three-time winner Lleyton Hewitt was forced to save six set points in
the first set and another one in the second as he finally overcame the
challenge of British wild card Jonathan Marray to move through to the
quarterfinals of the Stella Artois Championships.
Hewitt, who is hoping to join John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only
four-time champions at The Queen's Club, eventually booked his place in the
last eight against Igor Andreev with a 7-6(2), 7-6(8) victory over Marray,
saving 11 of 12 break points in the match.
"It's good to play a different style of game before Wimbledon," said Hewitt.
"On the big points I was able to produce the shots when I had to. He played
better today than he had in the first two rounds from what I've heard from
other people."
The No. 6 seed from Australia had to draw upon all of his experience against
the 23-year-old Marray, playing in just his second ATP tournament having lost
in the first round in Nottingham 12 months ago.
Marray broke Hewitt's serve to lead 2-0 at start of the match, and continued
to attack the net at every opportunity - the kind of tactics that worked
wonders against Christophe Rochus and fellow Briton Jamie Delgado earlier in
the week. Although Hewitt broke back at the first opportunity, the former
World No. 1 never looked comfortable against the World No. 277.
With the Briton leading 6-5 in the first set, Hewitt saved six set points
before eventually forcing a tie-break, which he dominated to take it 7-2. But
Marray refused to let that disappointment affect him, as he continued to put
pressure on the former Wimbledon and US Open champion.
Marray, who won two Futures tournaments in Uzbekistan in May and reached the
second round in Surbiton last week, faced two match points on his own serve at
5-6, 15-40 in the second set. But he came up with the goods on both occasions,
and took the set into the tie-break.
Hewitt held another match point at 6-5, and a fourth at 7-6, but Marray saved
both and had a set point of his own at 8-7, only for Hewitt to produce a
winning forehand. Trailing 9-8, Marray finally succumbed after sending a
backhand wide as a relieved Hewitt went through. The Australian has now won 19
of his last 20 matches at The Queen's Club.
Despite the loss, Marray was delighted with his week's work. "I'm quite happy
with the way I played," said the Briton. "Obviously quite disappointed that I
had set points in both sets and could have won the match in two. He played
some great shots on the big points, which is why he's so good.
"I didn't really feel nervous to be honest. On those set points I was trying
to do the same thing I'd been doing the rest of the match. I had a great time
out there. It's the first time I've played on a show court like that, but I
was relaxed out there and had a great time.
Marry gives Hewitt the most telling of tests
www.lta.org.uk
The Stella Artois Championships
The Queen's Club 7-13 June 2004
Jonny Marray would have been excused for feeling nervous when he walked out to
face t Lleyton Hewitt for a place in the last eight of the Stella Artois
Championships but the 277th ranked Yorkshire never once seemed struck by stage
fright as he pressed the three times champion every inch of the way.
Sixth seeded Hewitt eventually came through 7-6,7-6 but only after saving set
points in both tie-breaks and was immediately full of praise for the 23
year-old from Sheffield. “He gave me a really tough match and served extremely
well all the way through,” said the Australian. “In the end it was just a case
of me playing the big points that little bit better.”
For 2002 Wimbledon champion Hewitt, the show-court atmosphere has long been a
way of life but it was all very new for Marray who just a couple of weeks ago
was playing in near obscurity in Uzbekistan.
Committed to all out serve and volley tactics, Marray relentlessly attacked
the player currently revered as possibly the finest returner of serve in the
world. Time and again the opportunity for the most telling of passing shot
presented itself but Marray made more than his share of acrobatically
stretched volleys.
It was a style reminiscent in many ways of a young Tim Henman and Marray
revealed: “When I was part of the Davis Cup team in Luxembourg a few weeks
ago, Tim told me to stick to my game and let the other fellow worry about what
I was doing rather than me worry about him.
“That’s the way I went out there and played against Hewitt. Although I’m quite
happy with my performance, I’m naturally disappointed with the result and
looking back realise I could have won the match. But I didn’t feel nervous out
there and realise there is still a lot more left in me in big tournaments like
this one.
“I didn’t embarrass myself. In fact Lleyton struggled to beat me and he’s won
Wimbledon, got to no.1 in the world and taken this Stella title three times in
a row.”
Marray was the first player to hold the upper hand, breaking serve to lead 2-0
in the opening set but Hewitt immediately broke back. From then on serve
dominated until the wild card entrant got ahead in the tie-break.
Hewitt is revered as one of the great fighters in the history of the game and
he needed all those qualities to fend off six set points before seizing his
own opportunity in a manner befitting of a top quality performer.
The second set was equally intense until Marray was forced to save two match
points to force another tie-break. After saving two more with the sheer high
class volleying, Marray actually moved to set point himself , only for Hewitt
to come up with a perfect forehand winner.
Finally Marray succumbed when his attempt at the most acutely angled backhand
half volley flew wide but a standing ovation from the late afternoon crowd
proved the Yorkshireman had provided some of the most entertaining tennis seen
all week.
[10.06.04 Report by Barry Flatman]
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Marray takes Hewitt to the brink
By John Roberts at Queen's Club
11 June 2004
independent.co.uk
Queen's Club is a flag-of-St-George-free-zone. The Centre Court is surrounded
by the sponsor's red flags at the Stella Artois Championships. Not that there
was a lack of patriotism here yesterday as the crowd cheered on Jonny Marray,
a serve-and-volleying wild card from Sheffield whose shots were as sharp as a
blade.
In the end, reality prevailed as a single green flag embossed with the golden
figure of a kangaroo was waved in honour of Lleyton Hewitt, who took the edge
off Marray in two tie-breaks and advanced to today's quarter-finals, 7-6, 7-6.
Marray's bleached hair, in the style of the England footballer Alan Smith, may
have made him easy to spot on his forays to the net, but Hewitt often found
himself unable to counter his opponent's plundering style.
Remember, we are talking here about Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, who
holds a 7-0 record against Tim Henman, the British No 1, and, as the sixth
seed, is aiming for a third title at the Stella. Remember also that we are
talking about Marray, a 23-year-old whose endeavours on the nursery slopes of
the professional game have raised his world ranking this year from 385 to 277.
A few years ago, Marray used to hit occasionally with his fellow Yorkshireman
Roger Taylor, the then British Davis Cup captain, and was later encouraged by
Jim Edgar, who invited him to join his group coaching scheme in Bolton.
Yesterday Marray showed why, as a late developer, he has been embraced by the
Lawn Tennis Association's coaches at the national governing body's
headquarters at Queen's and was including in Jeremy Bates' Davis Cup squad for
the match in Luxembourg in April.
"He enjoys coming to the net," was Hewitt's understatement after watching so
many of Marray's volleys whiz past him in a two-set match that lasted an hour
and 37 minutes.
The 23-year-old Australian needed all his skills and experience to save six
set points while serving at 5-6 in the opening set. Each time he solved one
problem, Marray hit him with another, until it looked as though Hewitt would
be punch-drunk.
In the tie-break, however, Hewitt seemed to loosen up and find his rhythm. It
was not a case of Marray's serve suddenly lacking pace, but rather that the
Australian, having been under pressure for so long, decided to go for his
shots, and they struck home with venom and accuracy. Hewitt won the opening
four points and clinched the shoot-out, 7-2.
Those that imagined Marray's game and spirit would crumble after the
disappointment of playing so well and gaining so little, were confounded when
he played equally as well, if not better, in the second set. His serving and
volleying continued to trouble Hewitt, who was creating few chances.
At least in the first set he had broken Marray to love after losing his own
serve in the second game, but now Marray seemed impervious to counter-attack.
Until, that is, the Briton was serving to stay in match at 5-6. Hewitt trapped
Marray mid-move to the net and lobbed him to 15-40. Two match points.
Marray served away the first, and pressed Hewitt into missing a forehand on
the second. A backhand volley and a service winner bought Marray a second
tie-break. And this one was tight. Hewitt won the opening two points and went
to 3-1 with a backhand lob, only to net a forehand on the next point. Hewitt
passed Marray with a backhand to create his third match point, serving at 6-5.
Marray cracked him with a volley on that one and saved a fourth match point
with another volley.
Marray then created a set point at 8-7 with a service winner off a second
serve. Hewitt took care of that, hitting a line with a forehand cross-court
drive. The Australian then hit a powerful serve to bring up his fifth match
point. Marray did his utmost to erase that one, too, but his angled
cross-court backhand drifted wide for 8-10.
Ian Flanagan, Britain's other lowly ranked high-flyer of the week, was unable
to extend himself beyond the last 16. Flanagan, the world's 866th best player,
was outclassed by the fifth seed, Sebastien Grosjean, a fellow
counter-puncher, who last year defeated Henman both here and at Wimbledon.
The Welsh-born 22-year-old was defeated by Grosjean, 6-2, 6-0, in a match that
lasted 50 minutes - the length of the first set between Hewitt and Marray.
Unable to reproduce even a semblance of the form that enabled him to defeat
Mark Philippoussis, the Wimbledon runner-up, and overcome Victor Hanescu, who
eliminated Goran Ivanisevic, Flanagan was disappointed but determined to
continue his campaign to earn a place at Wimbledon.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wildcard gives Hewitt scare
The Australian
June 11, 2004
LLEYTON HEWITT scraped into the quarter-finals of the Queen's Club
championships today after the world No.277 threatened to end his run.
Little-known British wildcard Jonathan Marray put a scare through the
Australian camp when he pushed Hewitt to two tiebreaks.
Hewitt, the world No.11, eventually gained the upper hand to win 7-6 (7-2) 7-6
(10-8) and advance to the last eight.
Hewitt got off to a shaky start when Marray broke him in his first service
game. But things got a lot worse at the end of the first set when, with a 6-5
lead to the Briton, Marray held six set points.
Always the fighter, Hewitt hit back to win the game and claim the tiebreak
7-2.
The second set also ended in a tiebreak after Hewitt let slip a 40-0 lead in
the final game.
It was a thrill-a-minute in the decider as the pair went neck and neck until
Hewitt eventually won 10-8.
"He played extremely well," said Hewitt.
He said a match like today's is perfect practice ahead of Wimbledon.
"It's good, especially on grass," he said.
"I enjoyed playing out there and the more matches I play out there the better
it will be for me in the next week and a half."
Hewitt will now face unseeded Russian Igor Andreev in the quarter-finals.
It looks increasingly likely Hewitt will have to overcome top seed and
defending champion Andy Roddick in a semi-final showdown if he hopes to take
out his fourth title.
Roddick, the defending champion, made the quarters with a tight 7-6 (7-3) 4-6
6-4 victory over unseeded Crotian Mario Ancic.
Hewitt and Roddick are two of only six seeds remaining in the main draw, with
Mark Philippoussis, Andre Agassi, French open finalist Coria Guillermo and Tim
Henman among those who have fallen victim on the grass courts.
Roddick must face either seventh seed Paradorn Srichaphan from Thailand or
unseeded Frenchman Antony Dupuis in his quarter final match.
The dream run of world No.866 Ian Flanagan, who ousted Philippoussis in the
first round, came to a sudden halt today when he was beaten by Frenchman
Sebastian Grosjean 6-2 6-0.
Grosjean will meet Radek Stepanek from the Czech Republic in the final eight
after he beat Yen-Hsun Lu from Taipei 6-2 6-4.
Slovak Karol Beck, who knocked out Henman yesterday, beat 14th seed Croatian
Ivo Karlovic in a three-set thriller 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to advance to the
quarters.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARRAY CLOSE TO SINKING HEWITT
Sporting Life
Jonathan Marray on Thursday received a standing ovation after pushing former
Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt all the way in the Stella Artois
Championship.
Marray held six set points in the opening set and another in the second before
eventually bowing out 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (10-8) to the three-time Queen's Club
champion in the third round.
"I'm a bit disappointed not to take it to three sets, I had set points in both
sets so could have actually won it in two, but I loved it, it was a great
atmosphere," said Marray, who fully justified his wild card into the event.
"I was a bit nervous in the dressing rooms but once I got on court I just
seemed pretty relaxed and felt good. I stuck to my game plan and caused him a
few problems so I'm pretty happy."
Marray had never previously won a match on the ATP tour before this week - his
prize money of £7,738 is a career high - but defeated world number 115
Christophe Rochus of Belgium in the first round and fellow Briton Jamie
Delgado in the second.
The 23-year-old from Sheffield has made significant progress this season, his
world ranking improving from 385 to its current high of 277 in the two months
since he was called into the Davis Cup squad for the tie with Luxembourg.
That improved ranking has also earnt him a wild card for Wimbledon and he will
travel to the All England Club full of confidence.
He added: "I competed well with a player who won Wimbledon once and was world
number one and he struggled to beat me so I am confident of doing well whoever
I get in the first round at Wimbledon.
"I think I still have a lot more in me. Playing in tournaments like this, the
more I do it the better I will get on the big points so I think I can improve
definitely."
Hewitt was not so impressed however, as he said: "Grass only lasts for about
four weeks of the year and that's going to be his problem.
"I'm not surprised I haven't heard about him the last three or four months on
clay.
"From all accounts he played a lot better today than in his first two rounds.
"He had nothing to lose and he played like that. He nearly lost to Rochus in
the first round and he's no grass court specialist."
Marray charged into a 2-0 lead and although he was quickly broken back, more
than held his own by charging into the net at every opportunity and producing
some superb volleys.
He held six set points on Hewitt's serve at 5-6, but the Australian dug deep
in typical style to force a tie-break which he raced through 7-2 to take the
set.
Marray was showing Tim Henman a thing or two about how to serve and volley,
holding his first four service games in the second set without conceding a
single point.
He was unable to force any break points however and had to save two match
points to force a second tie-break.
A second serve ace showed he was holding his nerve superbly and he saved two
more match points before earning a set point to level the match.
Hewitt again came up with the big shot when it mattered however and eventually
clinched victory on his fifth match point.
Hewitt grows in confidence
June 10, 2004 - 4:05PM
The Age, AAP
As Wimbledon approaches, Lleyton Hewitt is growing in confidence.
He tries to play down his belief in himself, maybe fearing he'll come across
as cocky, and explains his confidence as a positive attitude.
He says he's positive about playing tennis on grass, positive about meeting
his next opponent, positive about playing the Wimbledon warm-up events and
positive about the grand slam.
No doubt his attitude is helped by the fact the top seeds are dropping like
flies as they hit the grass in Wimbledon warm-up events while Hewitt feels at
home.
But when he is pushed to say if he's confident he'll win in London, Hewitt
backs down.
"Not so much confident about winning," he said.
"I feel positive about taking it one match at a time."
It's not hard to read between the lines - if he wasn't convinced he could win,
he wouldn't be Lleyton Hewitt.
The 23-year-old former world No.1 kicked off his grass court campaign in
impressive style on Wednesday when he wiped out unseeded Spaniard Marc Lopez
6-3 6-2 on his way to the third round of the Queen's Club tennis
championships.
It was the perfect start to his Wimbledon build up, with the grand slam event
less than two weeks away.
Hewitt said it took him a few games to adjust to the grass surface after
playing on clay at the French Open last week but he soon gained the upper
hand.
"When it's your first match back on the surface, it's always going to take you
a little bit to get your footing right," he said.
"And I felt like that probably for the first four or five games and then I
started playing pretty well and it felt like I moved a lot better out there as
the match went on."
Asked to explain why he makes the transition to grass so easily when others
struggle, Hewitt explained: "I'm positive about coming here and playing here.
"Whether having a good attitude about the whole month here in London (is the
answer), I'm not sure.
© 2004 AAP
Hewitt turns mind to grass
Bruce Wilson
Paris
04jun04
LLEYTON Hewitt departed with dignity from one of the worst lessons of a career
that once had him ranked the best player in the world.
He was polite, full of praise for the man who beat him 6-3 6-2 6-2, and
undeterred.
In fact, he sounded like a cross between a ruminant and a pot-head. "You've just
got to get on the grass," he said, which must have been the name of a 1960s
song. What he meant was, he was leaving town for England.
He is going to play the genial but tough tournament at Queen's in west London
that starts on Monday and which he has won three times. After that he is taking
a week off to attack Wimbledon, scene of the triumph he counts above all others.
You felt Hewitt must have been seriously down after being beaten so convincingly
by Gaston Gaudio, ranked 30 places below him.
Those who watched every point of that match will know what a comprehensive loss
it was for Hewitt. He was totally outsmarted and outplayed by a man who knew
exactly what he was doing on the red clay.
Happily, Hewitt had not the slightest hesitation in conceding that, and that was
another indication that he is a more serene soul.
Perhaps more important was the way he re-emphasised how vital it was to get
Australian kids on claycourts to learn how to play proper tennis.
Under his coach Roger Rasheed and the Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald, Hewitt
is quietly assuming the role of senior Australian player once held by Pat
Rafter. A wall he could do without has been built around Hewitt for most of his
career, and it seems to be breaking, if not exactly crumbling.
There is a way to go, but Fitzgerald, Wally Masur and Mark Woodforde in
Australia's Davis Cup set-up are very happy with Hewitt and his present
attitude.
As Hewitt himself said, he didn't know what they're feeding the South Americans,
but it seemed to be doing the trick.
Whatever it is, it flourishes in clay. The French Open for too long has been
treated as an eccentricity. It is more and more the place where those who
learned basic tennis make their mark.
The thrashing he was given by Gaudio might have been seen by Hewitt as just one
of those things in the old days. In fact, there was a time he might have
resented being asked about it at all.
Instead, he was not only happy to talk at length but also to take up what is
becoming a kind of mantra for the Australian hierarchy, that if tennis is to go
anywhere in Australia, kids must play on clay and learn all the arts.
Then, said Hewitt (backed by just about everyone), they can transfer those
skills much more easily on to other surfaces, especially since Wimbledon is now
slowing down both the balls and the courts.
Hewitt was almost rapturous about the great array of modern claycourt players.
"A joy to watch," he said.
Speaking of Wimbledon where he won in 2002 only to be knocked out in the first
round next year, Hewitt said: "I've always been able to change pretty well (from
clay to grass). For some reason I've been able to adjust maybe a little bit
better than some of the other people in the past."
The strength of the Argentines was written in letters of clay by Gaudio, and
later by David Nalbandian whom Hewitt beat in his Wimbledon final.
Nalbandian eliminated the madcap Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten in four hard sets 6-2
3-6 6-4 7-6 (8-6).
Kuerten had about 20 chances to win it and about 21 to lose it. That match was
played in front of an enraptured full house.
Hewitt-Gaudio didn't draw flies. Just how do these French crowds know?