Hewitt cruises into last 8
July 2 2002

Lleyton Hewitt continued his charge at Wimbledon, moving into the quarter-finals with another straight sets win.

The top seed beat Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-3 7-5 and is yet to drop a set for the tournament on his way to the final eight for the first time in his four appearances at Wimbledon.

But the result wasn't as easy as the score suggests.

Youzhny made him work hard in the opening set, but as Hewitt warmed up on the first cool day of the tournament, he took control of the world No.61 to cruise through the first two sets.

The Australian lost more points on serve (six) and sent down more double faults (one) in his first three games than he did in his entire third round match against Julian Knowle on Saturday.

The Russian's backhand forced Hewitt onto the defensive and he was stretched several times into making some of his trademark scrambling saves.

But when the 21-year-old sprints the length or width of the court, he doesn't get there to just get racket to ball, he invariably has enough time to decide where to place his shot for a winner.

It was such a sprint to pick up a drop shot and place it across court which set up the break in the second game which he hung on to take the set.

Hewitt's serve was not the flawless weapon it was against Knowle and he had to save break points in the first and fifth games of the opening set but he stepped up a gear in the second.

He breezed through and broke Youzhny twice to lead 5-2 but was himself broken as he served for the set before finishing it off in the Russian's next service game.

Youzhny took Hewitt to a third set tie break at Rosmalen the week before Wimbledon and finally tested the world No.1 in the third set.

The Russian came out of his shell and produced Hewitt had to come back from 15-40 down and save three break points to go to a 4-3 lead and was taken to deuce three times in his following game.

Hewitt again rarely came to the net and was supreme at the back in the first two sets but Youzhny matched him when they engaged in baseline rallies in the third, setting himself up for several excellent winners.

He started making some deft drop shots which not even Hewitt could recover and the Australia had to dig deep for the first time all tournament.

After surviving some tough tests on his serve, he finally found his way to two match points in the 12th game and wrapped it up when Youzhny sent a backhand wide.

In the quarterfinals, Hewitt will play Dutchman Sjeng Schalken.



In search of the youngsters who will follow Hewitt to the top
July 2 2002


Who's next? 

London: A year ago, Todd Woodbridge sat at Wimbledon and warned that Australian tennis was in trouble with no back-up coming through for Lleyton Hewitt.

This year, Wayne Arthurs was the one to express caution about the future, even as three Australians went into the fourth round at Wimbledon.

While Hewitt has gone on to become US Open champion, world No1 and Wimbledon favourite at 21 years of age, the problem of finding youthful support for him persists, with some slight hope on the horizon.

"There still is a little bit of a gap," said 31-year-old Arthurs, who was joined in the fourth round by Hewitt and Mark Philippoussis, who is already a veteran of three knee operations at the age of 25.

"That's something that has got to be addressed. The three guys that are in the last 16, they've always been there."


Since Woodbridge spoke out, Pat Rafter, Jason Stoltenberg and Richard Fromberg have all joined fellow Davis Cup stalwart Mark Woodforde in quitting the tour. And the tour rankings show how slim cup captain John Fitzgerald's options are.

Only Hewitt and Arthurs (No89) are ranked in the top 100, with Philippoussis (104), a plummeting Andrew Ilie (173) and improving 24-year-old Jaymon Crabb (186) inside the top 200.

Hewitt believes there is talent looming behind him but the players must challenge themselves to move on. He nominates 18-year-old junior Todd Reid, Chris Guccione and Peter Luczak as the next generation.

"Andrew Ilie has dropped away. Scott Draper is borderline at the moment," Hewitt said. "Peter Luczak is just outside the 200.

"I think Tennis Australia are trying to look at the younger guys. Todd Reid had a good result in Nottingham - played qualifiers, qualified, drew [British No2 Greg] Rusedski in his first round and was a set and a break up on his [opponent's] favourite surface, so he's obviously got some talent.

"I hit with a 16-year-old kid yesterday from Australia, Chris Guccione, a left-hander from Melbourne who plays exactly the same as Wayne Arthurs. We've got some good youngsters coming through.

"Why some of these others haven't been able to take the next step into seniors I'm not sure. They've got some good coaches behind them now. They're making them work hard.

"I think they've got to be hungry to take their next steps into the seniors, not worry about the junior results."

But other champions say the next big thing could come faster than anticipated - just like Hewitt. Boris Becker, who beat Hewitt at Wimbledon in 1999, said he could never have predicted Hewitt's rise.

"That was my last win as a professional and there's no shame in being beaten by a future No1," Becker said.

"But if you had told me that he was going to be No1 in two years' time, I would have said no."

Linda Pearce reports: Not only is Venus Williams an outspoken supporter of the women's tennis quest for equal grand slam prizemoney, but the Wimbledon top seed believes the way to achieve parity is to reduce the length of men's matches from five sets to three.

Williams, who says she watches only women's tennis because "for me it's more exciting", said she considered it discriminatory that the men's singles champion would be paid £39,000 ($106,500) more than his female equivalent, and a first-round loser an extra £1580 ($4315).

The French Open follows a similar policy, leaving only the Australian and US Opens where the men's and women's purses are identical.

"I think it's always hard to change minds," Williams said. "But in my opinion it's unacceptable in the workplace. Outside of tennis it's against the law to pay women less.

"The last word is that it should be three sets for the men."

Davis Cup matches and the nine Masters Series finals are the only non-grand slam matches played over five sets.

Experiments to extend women's matches have all been short-lived.

Pressed on whether she would prefer best-of-five finals, Williams said: "I could do it. I guess you just have to be a little bit more fit."

The prizemoney issue flared again last week when a British cabinet minister accused the male-dominated All England Club of being discriminatory and old-fashioned.



Hewitt Heats Up; Schalken Awaits
Top seed reaches the quarterfinals for the first time, where he will meet Sjeng Schalken.

Top seed Lleyton Hewitt cruised through to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time with a straight sets victory over Mikhail Youzhny.

In the windy conditions on Centre Court, the 21-year-old Australian came through 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 to move into the last eight, where he will meet Sjeng Schalken for a place in the semifinals.

"Youzhny's a good player," said Hewitt of his young Russian opponent, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. "I was expecting a tough match going out there and I was happy to get through in straight sets."

Tough

Hewitt's victory was much more straight forward than his second round win against Youzhny in 's-Hertogenbosch last week, when the Australian needed a final set tie-break to overcome the Russian.

"He was getting better and better as the match went on," said Hewitt, who is yet to drop a set so far this tournament. "It was tough conditions out there with the wind, so you don't want to spend a lot of time out there."

Looking ahead to his next match against Schalken, who is the only player to have won more matches than Hewitt on grass this year with a 12-1 record, Hewitt knows he is going to have to be on top of his game to pass the test.

"Sjeng's a great player and I've got a lot of respect of his game," said Hewitt, who defeated the Dutchman in the semifinals at Queen's three weeks ago. "He won the title at 's-Hertogenbosch last week, so he's obviously seeing the ball well. He's an all-court player. He's got a good serve, he can play from the baseline and he can come in as well, so I'm going to take it really seriously."

Tactics

Schalken reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam for the first time in 29 attempts with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-5 victory over Jan Vacek, repeating his victory over the Czech player in the second round at Queen's Club.

The Dutchman, who has also reached quarterfinals this year in Milan and Estoril, lost to Hewitt in four sets at Roland Garros in the third round, but he hopes to have his tactics right this third time around.

"Obviously I'm not going to storm to the net against him," said Schalken. "I'm not going to attack him because he loves that, it's his best play. I'm not afraid of him because he won't hit me off the court. You will see a lot of rallies."

Also through to the quarterfinals for the first time is Nicolas Lapentti, the 25-year-old from Ecuador who defeated 's-Hertogenbosch finalist Arnaud Clement in five set. He will meet David Nalbandian, the No. 28 seed from Argentina who achieved the seemingly impossible task of breaking the Wayne Arthurs serve for the first time this tournament en route to a 6-4, 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(7) victory.



Hewitt unconcerned by lack of competition
Lleyton Hewitt says the lack of a competitive match so far at Wimbledon will not hinder his chances of claiming the title.

The number one seed sealed a fourth consecutive straight-sets victory - this time over Russia's Mikhail Youzhny.

The Australian won 6-3 6-3 7-5 to set up a quarter-final clash with Sjeng Schalken.

Hewitt said: "I've had a few tight sets and had to come through in pressure situations and I feel good.

"I've played some tough sets but have not lost a lot of energy which is good.

"Youzhny is a good player, I was expecting a tough match and I'm happy to get through in straight sets, he was getting better and better as the match went on.

"It was pretty important to come out of those few break points I had and I was able to put a bit of pressure on his last service games.

"It was tough conditions, you want to get on and off as soon as possible. I feel like I'm getting better and better with each match."

Hewitt last faced Schalken on his way to winning a third straight title at Queen's in the lead-up to Wimbledon, and added: "He's a tough player. I'm not that surprised to see him in the quarter-finals.

"I've got a lot of respect for his game and I'm going to take it very seriously."


Top seeds in tremendous form
By Ossian Shine

LONDON (Reuters) - Top seeds Lleyton Hewitt and Venus Williams have hammered out stern Wimbledon warnings, ignoring gathering rain clouds to sweep into the quarter-finals in double-quick time.


Twice-champion Venus walloped American compatriot Lisa Raymond 6-1 6-2 in just 48 minutes on Monday, while Hewitt reached the last eight with a tidy 6-3 6-3 7-5 victory over Mikhail Youzhny.


"It was tough conditions, conditions you don't want top spend a lot of time out there," Hewitt said afterwards. "I'm pretty happy to be off there in straight sets."


Hewitt will take on Dutchman Sjeng Schalken in his first quarter-final at the grasscourt grand slam and is showing no signs of letting up.


"I have played some tough matches and tough sets but haven't lost a lot of energy out there which is a good thing," Hewitt added.


The world number one has yet to drop a set at the championships -- bad news for Tim Henman who is seeded to meet the Australian in the semi-finals.


On Monday, as rain clouds gathered, Hewitt was once more at his menacing best.


Youzhny simply ran out of ideas and into a brick wall on Centre Court as Hewitt countered every groundstroke and chased down every ill-judged drop-shot.


The tall and elegant Venus, looking in perfect shape to win the title for a third time in a row, blasted Raymond off court one to set up a quarter-final meeting with Russian Elena Likhovtseva.


DAMP WEATHER


The damp weather meant the usual long queues for Monday of the second week at the championships did not materialise, despite the attractions of local hopes Henman and Greg Rusedski playing later in the day.


Henman faces Michel Kratochvil while Rusedski -- on the other side of the draw -- takes on Xavier Malisse.


Likhovtseva may be quaking in her tennis shoes at the prospect of the match-up with Venus because on current form the world number one looks unbeatable.


"It's definitely nice to know I've won here. I have experience. I know what it takes to win here," Venus said afterwards.


Watched by her mother Oracene, who stands out in any crowd with her bright and big shock of orange hair, Venus left Raymond standing with searing groundstrokes down both flanks and served the doubles specialist into submission.


"Today was pretty solid and going into the quarter-finals was pretty good," Venus, 22, said.


For Likhovtseva it will be a first quarter-final at the All England Club after she downed 19th seed Magdalena Maleeva 6-3 6-4.


Venus's younger sister Serena, seeded second, was playing fellow American Chanda Rubin later on Monday as she plans to set up an all-sister final -- a repeat of the most recent U.S. Open and French Open finals. Venus triumphed in New York while Serena won last month in Paris.

Hewitt's best of three chances
By Linda Pearce in London
July 1 2002

Things could only be better for Lleyton Hewitt right now if the Adelaide Crows were on top of the AFL ladder and Kim Clijsters still had a chance to lead off at the Champions' Ball.

Wimbledon's top seed is healthy, playing superbly and has avoided a fourth-round rematch with Nicolas Escude.

"I don't think you're ever a short-priced favourite to win," said Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald, "but in my mind Lleyton has to be the favourite."

With each day, Hewitt's grip on his second grand slam appears to be tightening. He destroyed Julian Knowle 6-2 6-1 6-3 in just 88 minutes on centre court to close the first week and today opens the second against unseeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

"I've got to beat whoever's put in front of me; I'm not going to take a backward step," said Hewitt after joining fellow Australians Mark Philippoussis and Wayne Arthurs in the last 16 to equal his previous best here.

In doing so, he stayed on course for a semi-final against No.4 Tim Henman, the only other seed remaining from the original top 16.

As much as Hewitt says he was relishing the chance for Wimbledon/Davis Cup revenge against Escude - "I was looking forward to having a shot at him" - his mind is now elsewhere and his game is in mint condition.

Hewitt dominated Knowle with an immaculate exhibition of serving (16 aces, no double-faults, 91 per cent of service points won) and baseline play.

The 21-year-old is one of only two grand slam champions still in the draw and is feeling as confident as at the same point in last year's US Open.

"From half-way through my round-of-16 match against Tommy Haas, I couldn't put a foot wrong," he recalled of his Flushing Meadows experience.

"I played my best tennis I've ever played; I stood up to the plate and put it all on the line every time. Whether I can put together another four matches like I did at the US Open, that's another question."

At least the centre-court bogy appears to have been overcome and he will return there against Youzhny, who pushed him at Rosmalen in Holland last week.

"I'm going to have to go up another level," Hewitt said.

Arthurs will have the same aim but is already playing so well that the least fashionable of the Australian trio is now being claimed by the British tabloid newspapers as an honorary Brit. He lives in Middlesex, the product of an English mother and Irish father, but Arthurs was born in Adelaide, raised in Melbourne and is as Australian as Pat Rafter.

The problem is that he could not adequately replace Rafter when he withdrew injured from the deciding Davis Cup finals rubber against France's Escude.

That which did not kill him made him stronger, just as his first-round losses here in the past two years, after an exceptional debut in 1999, were devastating on the one hand, but liberating on the other.

"Losing those points sort of freed up everything," said Arthurs, who next plays 28th seed and Wimbledon debutant David Nalbandian.

Will it allow him to win this tournament? Arthurs is not even thinking about it and is fond of saying it takes a special player to win a grand slam, while not considering himself quite that.

Arthurs's coach, Brent Larkham, has to keep reminding his charge how good he can be. Especially on grass, and although Arthurs used to say he preferred hardcourts, he is aware that his advantage on this surface is far greater.

Right place, right time, too, for Philippoussis, although his is a tougher quarter, which includes not only his next opponent Richard Krajicek, the only former All England champion left in the draw, but Greg Rusedski and Xavier Malisse.

Now, for all three Australians, the serious business of winning the championship begins again.


Hewitt aims to stop Britain's big guns

Posted on Sunday, June 30, 2002 - 17:34

The battling and brash figure of controversial Australian Lleyton Hewitt looks like being the only player capable of stopping Britain putting an end to its miserable 66 year long wait for a men's champion at Wimbledon.

In this topsy-turvy championship, where only two of the top sixteen men's seeds have made it into the second week, it seems only the 21-year-old Hewitt, top seed and world number one, has the armoury to quell the seemingly irresistible surge of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski towards a Battle of Britain in next Sunday's final.

The decimation of the seeds, which has seen seven-time champion Pete Sampras, fellow American legend Andre Agassi as well as former US Open champion Marat Safin all departing before the Centre Court grass has had a chance to get too bare, means it is the worst showing by the top sixteen seeds at a Grand Slam in the Open era.

It has also led to many here predicting that if Hewitt blows his chance, then it will be the year of either Henman or Rusedski.

"It's good to be alive in this tournament because so much has happened," said fourth seed Henman who beat respected grass-courter Wayne Ferreira to reach the fourth round.

"It's a question of almost starting again and being ready for my next opponent," added the Briton who was a controversial winner over the South African who claimed he was robbed of a great chance of victory by a controversial overrule in the third set tie-break of his four set, third round defeat on Saturday.

"I have had some tough losses here but I have always said that one day I believe I will win this tournament.

"If I lose next week, it won't alter that belief," added Henman, three times a semifinalist in the last four years.

Henman, who is seeded to face Hewitt in the last four, faces Switzerland's unheralded Michel Kratochvil on Monday for a place in the quarterfinals.

Although all the top contenders are keen to play down their chances, there are respected figures in the game who believe that the title is there for Hewitt's taking.

"The courts seem to be slower and I think that will suit Hewitt's game," said former French and Australian Open winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov, another of the seeds to suffer a first week exit.

"They are not as fast as they used to be and that will have a big effect on the serve-volleyers."

Rusedski, seeded 23, is in the bottom half of the draw where the highest remaining seed is Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti who's a lofty 22.

Rusedski, whose best performance here was a quarterfinal spot in 1997, is expected to ease past Belgium's Xavier Malisse before coming up against either Mark Philippoussis of Australia or Dutchman Richard Krajicek, the champion in 1996.

"I'm taking it one match at a time. I can't get too far ahead of myself because this tournament has been a little crazy with all the upsets," said Rusedski.

"I know there is a lot of expectation on both Tim and myself, but I've been in the background and I don't mind that."

Despite his caution, Rusedski is in the more comfortable half of the draw and should he get as far as the semifinals, he could face David Nalbandian of Argentina, Lapentti, Frenchman Arnaud Clement or big serving Aussie Wayne Arthurs.

Fans hit home for Lleyton
By Patrick Miles and agencies, Wimbledon
July 01, 2002
THE Australians are pouring into the All England Club from all corners of London, bearing flags and footy jumpers, sensing the chance to back a compatriot into the final for the third consecutive year.

Just like Pat Rafter for the past two years, it is Lleyton Hewitt's turn to carry the hopes of his nation as he faces Russia's Mikhail Youzhny tonight (AEST) for a place in the quarter-finals.

Hewitt, the top seed, swept into the last 16, beating Austria's Julian Knowle 6-2 6-1 6-3 in convincing fashion.

"It's good when you walk out there and see guys wearing Darren Jarman's No. 3 (Adelaide Crows) jersey, and holding up a banner," Hewitt said.

"It made me feel right at home. It felt like I was playing the Australian Open out there. All three of my matches so far have been fantastic.

"Obviously, I saw the craziness of last year's final when Pat was out there. It's a good atmosphere to play in. It's like playing a footy match."

Hewitt was in superb form against Knowle, but he knows he will need another gear against Youzhny. The Russian knocked out Frenchman Nicolas Escude, Hewitt's fourth-round nemesis at Wimbledon last year.

"It's going to be tough," he said. "I played him last week for the first time, in Rosmalen – tough match. I didn't play my best tennis. I feel like I can improve on that.

"He played well here last year. I saw him play Pat in the fourth round. He took the first set.

"He obviously feels pretty accustomed to playing on grass now. He moves well. He's got a really nice backhand. I'm going to have to go up another level."

Hewitt is one of only two grand slam champions left in the men's draw, the other being Richard Krajicek, of The Netherlands, who won here in 1996.

Victory for Hewitt against Youzhny would bring on the winner between another Dutchman, Sjeng Schalken, and Romania's Adrian Voinea.

Thereafter lies the possibility of a semi-final against Englishman Tim Henman, who meets Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil in the last 16.

In the bottom half of the draw, Australia has two representatives, both of whom have the ability to advance.

Mark Philippoussis and Krajicek will do battle, while another big server, Wayne Arthurs, plays Argentina's David Nalbandian.

While Australia celebrates three out of 16 participants, the US, once the powerhouse of men's tennis, have crashed to their worst Wimbledon showing in 80 years.

Yesterday the last American standing, lucky loser Jeff Morrison – who entered the draw with Tommy Haas's withdrawal – falling in straight sets to 18th seed Schalken.

Following the exit of seven-time champion Pete Sampras, former champion Andre Agassi and up-and-comer Andy Roddick, Morrison had been carrying the Stars and Stripes on his shoulders.

The US, who are second only to Britain in men's singles titles – 33 over 115 years – will have no representative in the fourth round for the first time since 1922.

"I didn't know I was the last remaining American. It didn't even dawn on me," Morrison said.

He does not believe the disappointing showing means there is a crisis in American men's tennis.

"There's a good group of guys up and coming, doing well. People are getting a little impatient, but there are guys on the verge of reaching the top 100 and when they do no-one will be talking anymore."

With all the wisdom of his 18 years, Mario Ancic, who created such a stir by beating Roger Federer on centre court, has created an even bigger one by sacking Bob Brett, widely recognised as one of the world's best coaches.

Ancic told Brett he wanted to end their relationship immediately after he lost his second-round match to Jan Vacek, but insisted Wimbledon had nothing to do with it.