It is the first match up of this year’s Wimbledon with real star quality. It’s one of those matches when people stop and take notice.
A match between Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt promises some electric tennis. It may not always deliver, and in those cases it is because Federer has moved up ten gears.
One such match that springs to mind was the 2004 US Open final – the second-last time Hewitt reached a Grand Slam final (the last was 2005 Australian Open), when Federer played one of the matches of his life to win 6-0 7-6 6-0.
It was the first time that a US open final had two 6-0 sets.
But there are also the nail-biters, and their last clash was one of those. It was last year in Cincinnati when the Swiss won by the skin of his teeth 6-3 6-7 7-6.
It is a match like that that Hewitt is likely to reflect on. It was soon after he had joined forces with coach Tony Roche, whose association with Federer had ended four months before.
So will the Roche factor be an factor in this match?
Hewitt suggests that it should be, because Roche has all the inside information on his former charge. But Hewitt also says it’s still going to be a matter of putting it into practice on the court, and on Wimbledon’s Centre Court that is a whole new ball game with Mr. R. Federer.
“He's played all his matches on Centre Court so far again this year,” said Hewitt. “He feels right at home on that stage. He's won 60 something matches now on grass, on this surface.
“(But) this is what you play for. There's no doubt about it. Especially in my situation, you know, these are the matches I enjoy. Yeah, it's good to get out there and play on Centre Court, play against the best player in the world.”
They both know each other’s strengths and weaknesses (not that Federer has any of the latter, really) and they both feel comfortable on the big stage. They are the only two Wimbledon champions left in the field, and Hewitt was the last man to win the title before Roger went on a winning streak that is seeing him trying to win a sixth straight title this year.
It will be a case of mixing things up and trying to take Federer out of his comfort zone, which is far easier said than done.
“He does enjoy dictating play, you know, playing off when the ball is in his court and he can dictate; have you going side to side and changing pace and changing direction and all that different stuff. That's when he's at his best,” said Hewitt.
They have known each other a long time and have even played doubles together in the past. The first time they ever played each other was as juniors when they were 15. It was in Switzerland and Federer won from match point down. After that, in the Open ranks, Hewitt won seven of their first nine matches.
But then, Federer the potentially-good-player started to become Federer arguably the greatest of all time.
The last time Hewitt beat Federer was in a relegation tie of the Davis Cup on Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park.
The Swiss was romping through the match. He was up two sets to love and had 5-3 in the third. Incredibly, Hewitt clawed back and won 61 in the fifth set. It was a classic match, but it stirred up the sleeping dragon.
That was September 2003. Hewitt hasn’t won a match against Federer since then.
The Swiss has won their last eleven encounters. He now holds a 13-7 record against the Australian, including two wins at Wimbledon.
“I've definitely played well against him the last times I've played him,” said Federer. “I don't remember when the last time was that I actually played him. It's been a while now again so I think that works in his favour maybe.
“It's always a challenge playing Lleyton. He's a great player, a guy I really enjoy watching, as well. He's a great competitor.
“Yeah, we go back a long time. We played when we were 15, you know, for the first time against each other. I saved match point and won in the end. So we go way back.
“Especially here, him being, you know, former No.1, former champion here, I think it's an intriguing match for both of us.”
With Wimbledon’s traditional rest day on the middle Sunday, they won’t play this match till Monday.
