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Hewitt prepares to expect the unexpected
London, June 23: An element of the unknown and a clutch of power-servers pose the biggest threat to Lleyton Hewitt as the Australian begins the defence of his Wimbledon title today.
London, June 23: An element of the unknown and a clutch of power-servers pose the biggest threat to Lleyton Hewitt as the Australian begins the defence of his Wimbledon title today.
The top seed opens Centre Court play with his first round match against Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic. The pair have never met but Hewitt knows what to expect - the unexpected.
''It's always tough against a qualifier,'' he said. ''You know, they've got a couple of matches under their belt. They feel a bit more confident on the surface.?
''If you've never played before you don't really know what to expect. But..I feel that I can step on court on any given day, on any given surface, and if I play my 'A' game I am good enough to beat anybody.''
Hewitt has proved that on many occasions and will be called on to prove it again if he is to hold on to his crown.
Should be survive the Karlovic test he will face another dark horse qualifier, either Swiss Ivo Heuberger or Australian Paul Baccanello. He has played neither man in an ATP or grand slam match before.
After that, men in the mould of Taylor Dent of the US and Max Mirnyi of Belarus could face him across the net - two of the biggest servers in tennis.
With fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick, the fastest server in the world sharing a 149 mph top speed with Greg Rusedski, in Hewitt's quarter, the counter-puncher will have to absorb a lot of body blows to succeed.
Hewitt is followed on Centre Court by his long-term girlfriend Kim Clijsters. Seeded second, she plays Paraguay's Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios.
Bureau Report
The top seed opens Centre Court play with his first round match against Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic. The pair have never met but Hewitt knows what to expect - the unexpected.
''It's always tough against a qualifier,'' he said. ''You know, they've got a couple of matches under their belt. They feel a bit more confident on the surface.?
''If you've never played before you don't really know what to expect. But..I feel that I can step on court on any given day, on any given surface, and if I play my 'A' game I am good enough to beat anybody.''
Hewitt has proved that on many occasions and will be called on to prove it again if he is to hold on to his crown.
Should be survive the Karlovic test he will face another dark horse qualifier, either Swiss Ivo Heuberger or Australian Paul Baccanello. He has played neither man in an ATP or grand slam match before.
After that, men in the mould of Taylor Dent of the US and Max Mirnyi of Belarus could face him across the net - two of the biggest servers in tennis.
With fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick, the fastest server in the world sharing a 149 mph top speed with Greg Rusedski, in Hewitt's quarter, the counter-puncher will have to absorb a lot of body blows to succeed.
Hewitt is followed on Centre Court by his long-term girlfriend Kim Clijsters. Seeded second, she plays Paraguay's Rossana Neffa-De Los Rios.
Bureau Report