Wimbledon Championships June 23 - July 6 2008

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Rd 4 Lleyton defeated by Roger Federer 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 6-4
     

Roger Federer ended Lleyton Hewitt's Wimbledon campaign with a straight-sets fourth-round victory over Australia's 2002 champion today. Federer increased his winning streak on grass to 63 with a 7-6 (9-7) 6-2 6-4 win over the 20th-seeded Hewitt in one hour and 49 minutes.

Hewitt paid tribute to Federer's unrivalled ability to absorb pressure after the top seed took time to settle."The first set could have gone either way. I had chances in the tiebreak," said Hewitt. "But he served extremely well today. Any quarter chances I got I didn't have for long. He hit the lines very well today and that's why he's the best player in the world, especially on this surface."

The victory also secured the top ranking for at least another week for Federer, regardless of how he fares the rest of the tournament. Federer, who is seeking his sixth consecutive title at the All England Club, now has a 14-7 win-loss record - including 12 straight victories - against Hewitt, the last man to win Wimbledon before the Swiss began his dominance of the event.

After clinching the first-set tiebreak on his fourth set point with an ace, Federer stepped up.He won the fourth game to love for a 4-0 lead in the second set, which he closed out comfortably.

In the third set, Hewitt failed to take some early chances against Federer, who sealed victory on his second of three match points when Hewitt netted a return. It was Federer's serving and ability to win the big points which ultimately proved the difference.

The world No.1 converted his only three break-point opportunities of the match - two in the second set and one in the third - while Hewitt was unable to capitalise on any of his eight break-point chances on Federer's serve.

"He hit the target every time," Hewitt said of Federer's serve."I had break-point chances there late in the second set and early in the third set. I didn't do too much wrong with them.

"When he's serving like that, it's not easy on this surface purely because his serve sets up the point for him to play in his comfort zone."It's very hard to take him out of that zone."

Federer thundered down 21 aces to Hewitt's eight to set up a quarter-final with Croatian Mario Ancic, the last man to beat the Swiss dominator at Wimbledon - some six years ago.

The two players had entered a packed Centre Court to a standing ovation and a small but vocal band of Australian supporters were fully behind Hewitt. They sang several tailor-made chants, squealing each time Federer hit the ball in the warm-up and grunting heartily when their compatriot hit it back.

With Hewitt trailing 3-4 in the opening set - and just hours after the news broke that he and wife Bec, a former Home And Away star - are expecting their second baby in January, the Australian fans launched into the soap's theme song in a bid to lift their compatriot.

But it was to no avail. "I served considerably well when I had to," Federer said. "But I could see Lleyton was struggling. The tiebreaker was key as that put me on the way and I saved break points when I had to."

Hewitt must now decide whether to undergo surgery for a hip injury which has troubled him since March or push through the pain barrier and continue with his plans to contest the Beijing Olympics and US Open in August.

Rd 3 Lleyton defeated Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2)

 

Lleyton Hewitt set up a meeting with his “good old mate” Roger Federer in the fourth round after beating 22-year-old Italian Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) on No.1 Court.

Hewitt and Federer are the only previous men’s champions at this year’s tournament and the Australian was happy to have the chance of dethroning the Swiss. "You always want to play against the best and he has owned [Wimbledon] the last five years," Hewitt said.

This was Hewitt’s second straight-sets win after his five-setter in the first round against Robin Haase, a reasonable measure of how he is improving as the tournament progresses.

He played Bolelli last year, on that occasion conceding just five games. Although this match was closer, Hewitt’s superior baseline play gave him the edge throughout.

Hewitt worked through the first set in just 27 minutes for the loss of a single game and was almost as efficient in the second, needing 38 minutes to take it 6-3.

The third set was a tighter struggle as both men raised the tempo and Hewitt's 120 mph ace in the third game underlined the intensity of the contest.

The first crisis of that set came for Bolelli when he was two break points down and 4-3 behind. But he served himself out of trouble and won the game with an ace.

A first match point for Hewitt followed two games later. Bolelli began the game with two aces but a missed a forehand at 30-30 set up match point against him. The Italian saved himself with a serve and won the next two points with attacking tennis to level it at 6-6.

In the tie-break, it was nearly all Hewitt. The Australian pulled ahead 4-1 courtesy of two errors from Bolelli, went to 5-2 on a double fault and then clinched the match with two service winners, the final one his 14th ace.

For Bolelli, history was always against him. In 40 years of Open tennis only three Italians have reached the fourth round and Hewitt never looked like he was going to allow that record to be improved upon.

 

rd 2 Lleyton defeated Albert Montanes  7-6 (7-4) 6-0 6-2

LLEYTON Hewitt's Wimbledon juggernaut gained momentum last night with a runaway victory over Spaniard Albert Montanes.

Seemingly destined for another protracted test at the All England Club, Hewitt surged clear impressively after a tight start to prevail 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 6-2.

The 2002 Wimbledon champion took 53 minutes to pocket the first set.He added the next two in 58 minutes and nourished his game with much-needed confidence ahead of a clash tomorrow with Chilean 15th seed Fernando Gonzalez or Italian Simone Bolelli.

Showing few signs of the left hip soreness which has blighted his season, Hewitt mauled 69th-ranked Montanes over the closing two sets. The Adelaide right-hander was worried about his capacity to recover after a sapping five-set first-rounder against Dutch teenager Robin Haase,

Trapped in a difficult section of the draw - Roger Federer is seeded to be his fourth-round opponent - Hewitt was ruthless and clinical against Montanes, And his delight on winning was obvious as he rose to the acclamation of small but rowdy quarter of Australian supporters. Hewitt edged ahead in the tiebreak despite being angered by a dubious line call.

"He's (linesman) called it before it's even frigging bounced," Hewitt said of his forehand which had been called wide. It didn't matter overly as Hewitt overpowered the Spaniard in the tiebreak to move ahead.

After an early arm wrestle in the second set, Hewitt's class again told as he broke Montanes serve. Soon after, it was a rout. Hewitt bounded to a huge lead as Montanes struggled in the heat with the Australian's tenacity.

The baseliner claimed eight games in a row until the third game of the third set when Montanes eventually got back on the scoreboard. By then, it was far too late against one of the sport's best front-runners.

With 18 winners, a mere 15 unforced errors, nine aces and no double faults, Hewitt was elated with his performance.The former world champion faces the prospect of surgery on tears in his left capsule.

The injury is hampering his mobility but, after 111 minutes of battle last night, he walked off court with a noticeable spring in his step.

 

Rd 1 Lleyton defeated Robin Hasse 6-7 6-3 6-3 6-7 6-2
Lleyton Hewitt needed all his fighting spirit to defeat gutsy Dutchman Robin Haase in a five-set cracker that gave the 2002 champion a real test in the first round, before the Australian took it 6-7(4-7), 6-3, 6-3, 6-7(1-7), 6-2.

Haase, making his Wimbledon debut, matched the Australian all the way, putting the pressure on with his serve and his reach and his ability to cover the court at pace, and grabbed the first set on a tie-break.

Hewitt was able to call on his considerable experience of Wimbledon to pull himself back into the match by taking the second and third sets. At the end of the third set Haase called the trainer to the court for attention to both feet.

But Haase was not ready to be counted out. After another tight set, he won the fourth set tie-break for the loss of only one point and began to look as if he could take control of the match.

But he barely got a chance. Hewitt raced to a 4-1 lead and showed his determination not to let Haase regain a foothold in the match and when the Dutchman missed a volley on Hewitt's second match, it sealed the match for the Australian.

It meant that Hewitt further improved his record in Wimbledon five-set matches. This was his fifth and he's now won four of them.

"If I get into a fifth set I'm feeling pretty confident," he said. "Obviously I was disappointed that I lost the fourth set because I felt like I had the whole momentum in the fourth set. I just wasn't quite able to get those little chances or take those chances.

"That's the good thing about five sets out there. The fifth set is an advantage set. Even though he played a couple of great sets where I couldn't break his serve, I was still able to get through."

Hewitt said he expected a different sort of match from his second round opponent, Spain’s Albert Montanes.

"On grass he doesn't have the biggest serve. He's not going to serve me off the court like this guy could potentially today. He's got a sneaky sort of slice serve out there and then a pretty good kick second serve, but you're always going to have a shot at it.

"The toughest thing, he's a clay court specialist. He's going to have a good forehand and he moves well. But he's not going to feel that comfortable on grass, which is a good thing."
 

Hewitt Digs Deep to Overcome Haase But Looks a Man Out of His Time

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt scraped through his first round match against Dutchman Robin Haase
Lleyton Hewitt cannot be certain that he was born in Adelaide on February 24, 1981. He has no clear recollection of the fact and must take his mother's word for it. What he does know, with an increasingly uncomfortable conviction, is that he was born at the wrong time. He is less than six months older than Roger Federer for one thing, provided Federer's mum is telling the truth, and the Swiss champion has dominated their era since the Australian's two grand slam titles, at the US in 2001 and here a year later.

He is 27 but it is a high-mileage 27 and a second-hand car dealer would be tempted to turn back the clock if he had him on his forecourt, what with his hip condition and talk of retirement, possibly next year. Since March he has played a Davis Cup tie and only two tournaments.

Hewitt has always been a baseline scrapper whose main weapons have been speed, a strong return of serve and well honed survival instincts. These days every match is a war. Yesterday it took him five sets to beat Robin Haase, 21 and making his Wimbledon debut. Hewitt, the only champion in the draw apart from Federer, is making his 10th straight appearance here. He is ranked 27 in the world but seeded 20.

The Dutchman is ranked 62nd and looked gauche, though dangerously talented, and yesterday he took Hewitt to the wire. Fernando Gonzalez will present bigger problems in the third round and Federer may be his opponent in the fourth.

There is a sense that the Australian is a player at odds with his era. Even his back-to-front baseball cap and his clenched-fist "C'mon" seem strangely dated. In his new book, A Champion's Mind, Pete Sampras makes an interesting assessment of the Australian: "Lleyton liked having a target but in his era guys stopped coming to the net. Hewitt was a victim of his time.

"As Lleyton became more and more vulnerable he was having to work harder and harder to win matches. When you play with a grinder's mentality, like Lleyton did, you rely a lot on mental intensity. But no matter how tough you are, it's hard to keep up that hard-working, patient style. Eventually it catches up with you and you get a little burned out." Note how Sampras refers to Hewitt in the past tense.

But Hewitt's struggle is symbolic of a wider malaise in the Australian game. In 1971, when John Newcombe was the men's champion and Evonne Goolagong the women's, there were 46 Australians in the two singles competitions; this year there are five, two men and three women.

"It used to be run of the mill for an Australian to win Wimbledon," says Newcombe, recalling such champions as Lew Hoad, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and Pat Cash as well as himself, and runners-up such as Ken Rosewall and Pat Rafter.

Poor administration - though the coaching system has now been totally revamped - and competition from other sports have hit the Australian game and Newcombe says: "It's going to be a long road back but the next year or two is going to be very important. Young players will have to see the same work ethic as we see in eastern Europe and South America."

There is still nothing wrong with Hewitt's work ethic. It took him three hours and 36 minutes to get past Haase and he dug so deep that he almost tunneled home. "Competing is one of my biggest assets," he said.

His dodgy hip made him grimace and he was also warned by the umpire after falling foul of a foot-faulting linesman. He lost the first set on a tie-break but won the next 6-3 and when he took the third by the same score he appeared to be in control. But Haase fought back to win the fourth on a tie-break (7-1) before Hewitt showed his experience by closing out the match 6-2 in the fifth.

"I'd hardly seen him play before but I talked to a number of people and they all told me he was dangerous and they were right," said Hewitt afterwards. The hip was hurting again. We will not see much more of him here and after him there is great uncertainty. The legend of Australian tennis is strong, the legacy less assured.