Fuente : Wimbledon
http://www.wimbledon.org

WIMBLEDON: Hewitt On a High

/noticias.info/ Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Lleyton Hewitt booked his place in the third round by beating Jan Hernych 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. The Czech, ranked 66, made the third seed work hard in the middle phase of the match, but it was a losing battle.

Hernych got off to a depressing start, surrendering his serve immediately. Hewitt, on the other hand, was all instant confidence and authority despite the blazing summer heat of No.1 Court. Hernych could do little to halt the tide, and the set was gone inside the half hour.

Hewitt looked sharp and is clearly recovered from the surgery he underwent in March to remove a cyst from his right foot. It was not that injury which kept him out of last month's French Open (breaking a run of 25 consecutive Slam appearances) but an injury to two ribs, cracked in an accident at home in Sydney. He returned in time for some grass court preparation at Queen's, succumbing to Ivo Karlovic in the quarter-finals.

Back on No.1 Court, no one seemed more surprised than Hernych at the start of the second set when he managed to break Hewitt and went up 3-0. Hewitt's unforced error count was creeping up, and Hernych was less overawed. He held on long enough to win a set point at 5-3, but could not manage the clincher. Predictably Hewitt battled back to take it 7-5.

But the Czech had acquired a taste for the fight, and was not about to fold. Instead in the third set he broke Hewitt again for 4-2, and this time he held on. The Australian was angry with himself and went into maximum fist-pumping mode to get himself going. It worked, generating an instant break of serve, and Hewitt never looked back.

Time passes quickly in elite sport. One moment it seems as if a new player is set to dominate, the next someone still younger and hungrier has changed the story. Even though he is still just 24, Hewitt's Wimbledon victory of 2002 seems strangely distant. For a while the period after that triumph seemed punctuated by a mental uncertainty damaging the authority of Hewitt's game. The same period also witnessed the full flowering of Roger Federer's formidable talent.

Now Hewitt's problems appear to be receding, and he is once again becoming the player we first met. But during this Wimbledon it is highly likely the Australian will have to face both Marat Safin and Federer if he is even to reach the final, never mind lift the trophy.

Will it play on Hewitt's mind that he lost to Safin in this year's Australian final, and to Federer in last autumn's US Open final?

One step at a time. Next up for Hewitt is Justin Gimelstob, ranked 123 and a lucky loser from the qualifying tournament. But the amenable American is struggling with a back injury, and admits he will need to be "firing on all cylinders and ready to go to work" against Hewitt, who "brings so many skills to the table". A place in next Monday's last 16 is already beckoning the Australian.

Written by Kate Battersby


Court 1 - Gentlemen's Singles - 2nd Round
Lleyton Hewitt AUS (3) 6 7 3 6
Jan Hernych CZE 2 5 6 3 notas_de_prensa_archivo