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Aussie coach firm in belief of Hewitt`s form
Melbourne, July 14: Australian tennis captain John Fitzgerald said today that Lleyton Hewitt will recover in time for Davis Cup semifinal against Switzerland that will feature the man who succeeded Hewitt as Wimbledon champion.
Melbourne, July 14: Australian tennis captain John Fitzgerald said today that Lleyton Hewitt will recover in time for Davis Cup semifinal against Switzerland that will feature the man who succeeded Hewitt as Wimbledon champion.
Fitzgerald said the Sept. 19-21 match in Melbourne against a Swiss team including Wimbledon winner Roger Federer will bring out the best in Hewitt, whose recent form slump culminated in his surprise first-round loss at Wimbledon.
Hewitt's downward spiral has cost him his world no. 1 ranking, while he has also changed his coach and become embroiled in a legal battle with men's tennis governing body, the ATP.
But Fitzgerald said too much was being read into Hewitt's first-round loss to unheralded Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic, citing the defeat as "unusual".
"He's enough of a professional to bounce back and it was a very unusual matchup for him," Fitzgerald said. "It took a guy who was 6 foot 10 and serving like a genius to beat him. Also the (Wimbledon Center) court is very green on the first day and it turned into a different game."
Hewitt has not played since Wimbledon and is due to return to action in the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles on July 28 before the US Open next month and the Davis Cup semifinal.
Bureau Report
Fitzgerald said the Sept. 19-21 match in Melbourne against a Swiss team including Wimbledon winner Roger Federer will bring out the best in Hewitt, whose recent form slump culminated in his surprise first-round loss at Wimbledon.
Hewitt's downward spiral has cost him his world no. 1 ranking, while he has also changed his coach and become embroiled in a legal battle with men's tennis governing body, the ATP.
But Fitzgerald said too much was being read into Hewitt's first-round loss to unheralded Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic, citing the defeat as "unusual".
"He's enough of a professional to bounce back and it was a very unusual matchup for him," Fitzgerald said. "It took a guy who was 6 foot 10 and serving like a genius to beat him. Also the (Wimbledon Center) court is very green on the first day and it turned into a different game."
Hewitt has not played since Wimbledon and is due to return to action in the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles on July 28 before the US Open next month and the Davis Cup semifinal.
Bureau Report