FazHewitt needs to be the hunter for Australian Open
January 15th 2009 22:27
These are tough times for Lleyton Hewitt. The former world no.1 exited the Sydney Medibank International at the hands of David Nalbandian in a tight straight sets loss last night.
Regardless, Hewitt should be happy with his on court time, in particular his second round win over Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.
Although Hewitt admitted that Nalbandian was a class above than the two opponents he had already beaten in Sydney, his performance against Tipsarevic should give the Australian some much needed confidence heading into next weeks first Grand Slam.
On form, Tipsarevic is a actually a more dangerous player than Nalbandian, with an ability to hit winners from all corners of the court.
In their second round match-up, the Serbian demonstrated his potency against Hewitt early on, racing to a 3-0 lead in just nine minutes.
But Hewitt remained composed and eventually strangled the Serbian out of the contest with his high service percentage and consistent forehand winners.
In a way, that was the first time in many years that Hewitt demonstrated a killer instinct against a classy opponent.
Against Nalbandian, Hewitt played well, but lacked the killer touch that currently installs itself in today's top ten players.
If Hewitt is a chance at this years Australian Open, he must take his chances without hindrance.
Nalbandian, although a slower on court mover than Tipsarevic, is a much more consistent player that will force his opponent to play a high quality in order to match the game of the Argentine.
Hewitt at times did play at a reasonable quality, but fell well short of humbling an opponent that can still mix with the best players on the ATP tour.
The two time Grand Slam winner however, can take heart from the fact that his loss to Nalbandian was much closer than a straight sets defeat suggests.
In critical stages of yesterday's encounter, Hewitt just came up short, whether it was from an unforced error or his inability to hit a powerful winner.
Although Nalbandian was well below par by his standards, the world no.11 still managed to find the answer against an opponent which caused him great troubles early on in his career.
Hewitt will need to find answers quickly, considering he heads to Melbourne next week as an unseeded player for the first time in many moons.
Currently ranked in the mid 70's, Hewitt will have is work cut out right from round 1.
Although no one doubts his fighting ability, Hewitt needs to rediscover his killer instinct if he his to once again threaten for a Grand Slam title.
Because now, opportunities for Hewitt are becoming more scarce as every year passes.
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