“They all have different strengths,” Hewitt said after his 17th and last Wimbledon appearance ended in a gut-wrenching 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-0 11-9 first-round loss to Jarkko Nieminen.
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Hewitt twice led the Fin after winning the first and third sets but the Australian called two medical time-outs in the decider and finally, after exactly four hours on court, his resistance crumbled.
However, 2002 Wimbledon champion Hewitt is not of the same opinion and the 34-year-old doubts whether his fellow compatriot will clinch a first Grand Slam.
“He always gives 100 per cent. It’s going to be a tough match and, even though I’ve had the edge on him in head-to-head matches, we’ve had some battles in the past and I’m sure Monday will be no different”.
World No. 1 Williams was warned for an audible obscenity when trailing 3-2 but soon transferred her aggression into some belting winners to overwhelm the world No. 113. How did Tommy Haas win a match at age 37?
“I probably do not cry easily, no. I haven’t cried today, if that’s what you’re asking”.
Hewitt had made a private pilgrimage to Centre Court on Sunday to drink in the atmosphere of a sporting temple one last time.
His ranking has slipped down to 118 as a result and his dismal form coming into Wimbledon – six defeats in his seven matches in 2015 – suggested he was limping rather than sprinting towards his career finish line. The Israeli also won the first two games of the second set, but the turning point of the match arrived in the seventh game of the set.
“But I wanted to focus on myself as I haven’t played for a couple of weeks”.
Hewitt would have loved to add that home title to his other majors, but Wimbledon will always hold a special spot in his heart.
Birds of a feather Lleyton Hewitt and Novak Djokovic missed out on a second-round clash of champions as the Aussie warrior bowed out of Wimbledon. My mentality going out there and, you know, ‘never say die attitude.
While Kokkinakis, who has been suffering from illness and recently lost a grandparent, went down 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, and Tomic won in five sets against Jan-Lenard Struff of Germany, Kyrgios was through in double quick time 6-0, 6-2, 7-6 against Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, but still managed to embroil himself in controversy.
Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori overcame an injury scare to reach the second round with a gruelling 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Italy’s Simone Bolelli.
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Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, right, greets Lleyton Hewitt of… “I wasn’t refereeing to the ref at all there”, he said. While his aggressive approach wasn’t to everyone’s taste back then, most fans would now consider him a sentimental favorite.
