Tennis Prose




Jun/15

29

Hewitt Heroic in Final Wimbledon Match

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We couldn’t have expected anything less. Lleyton Hewitt delivered another dramatic marathon five setter at his seventeenth and final Wimbledon, somehow surviving a bagel in the fourth set to rally back in the fifth, actually breaking Jarkko Nieminen three times but squandering each advantage with shaky service games, then somehow later managing to survive three match points. The battle raged on at the packed and energized court two for another half hour with some fantastic tennis.

As the fifth set wore on, Hewitt steeled himself for one last push on these hallowed grass courts of Wimbledon and he summoned every ounce of his fighting spirit, fueled also by the energy of about 30 yellow and green clad Fanatics, who Cliff Drysdale said sound like over a hundred.

You wondered, who really wanted this more, Hewitt, the former star, whose imminent retirement got all the media attention, compared to the low-key Finn, or was it actually Nieminen who hungered for this last chance to shine and earn a degree of respect and glory he’s never quite got from the media and fans? Jarkko let out a ferocious, emotional roar in the fifth set, which conjured the image of the young Hewitt, after a big forehand winner. This emotional explosion by Nieminen showed an intensity that this matured, older version Hewitt could not quite match today.

Hewitt, despite being up a break three times, always seemed pressured and uncomfortable about being behind in the fifth, fighting to regain the momentum lost in the dismal fourth set bagel. His trademark confidence of youth was missing Having won only one match all year, that was to be expected, yet Hewitt still fought and tried and tried some more.

Jarkko visibly was the superior player, showing he had more power, pop, movement, and control, yet somehow Hewitt managed to hang in there and push Nieminen to keep working harder and harder. At one point near the end, Hewitt ran down an impossible volley and missed a miraculous forehand winner by inches in the corner, evoking a respectful head shake from Nieminen, which expressed without words, I can’t believe this warrior almost made that shot, or that he even tried to make that shot.

The flashes of the Hewitt greatness thrilled the crowd just like yesteryear – but it was only flashes. The timely aces and service winners, the diving volleys, the running forehand and backhand winners, the lob winner flat on the line on a game point, the clutch overheads, the successful forays to net are still a part of Hewitt’s unique game. But Hewitt’s game is also now plagued by errant forehands, double faults, and costly unforced errors. Years of losses and failures will dwindle anyone’s confidence.

But Hewitt is the epitome of a warrior, even when the odds are stacked against him. He can still fight like a tiger even if his claws and fangs are missing. He still somehow managed to make a memorable melodrama out of what should and could have been just another routine, normal three or four setter.

The end came suddenly, Hewitt serving, earned a game point for 10-All but a Jarkko forehand winner followed by a netted forehand suddenly gave the Finn his fourth match point. Hewitt missed his first serve down the tee long by a foot, then Jarkko aggressively attacked Hewitt’s second offering. The deathblow was forehand cross court just long. Nieminen had finally conquered Lleyton Hewitt, 11-9 in the fifth.

The two gladiators of the grass shared an embrace at net, Hewitt smiling and at peace. Jarkko took his deserved applause – this was his first win of his career over Hewitt – and now he moves on to a second round match with world number one Novak Djokovic.

After Jarkko took his perfunctory bows, Hewitt got up and gave his final waves on court at Wimbledon at the net, he was stoic as always, acknowledging the fanatics and the respect of the stadium, but there were no special displays of emotions or demonstrations. During Hewitt’s final bows, Nieminen was giving Hewitt a standing ovation along with the arena. Hewitt then shyly went back to his chair, packed his Wimbledown towel into his one square bag, picked up the main Yonex racquet bag, and then the picked up the square bag, gave a few more waves and then exited the court behind the umpire chair, as if in a hurry, all the while Nieminen continued his standing ovation until Hewitt was out of the stadium.

It was not quite the befitting ending or the proper send-off we would have all liked to have seen for the legendary champion Lleyton Hewitt. Playing Djokovic on Center Court in the second round would have been more appropriate, as we just know the theatrical Djokovic would have made the dynamic moment even more special, and unforgettable, as we know Djokovic reveres Hewitt in extremely high regard as he has stated so many times to the media.

But tennis does not follow scripts and this was the grand Wimbledon finale that was destined to be, of one of the greatest, most inspiring and electrifying champions this sport, or any other sport, has ever witnessed.

Lleyton Hewitt quotes after the match today…

“The crowd and everything, it was fantastic. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. Even yesterday I just went and sat in the stands of Centre Court; just soaked it up and listened to music in there. I’ve always loved the tradition of the game. I’ve never hidden that. That’s something that I love being around. For me, it’s the home of tennis. I don’t get the same feeling walking into any other grounds in the world. One of the greatest things about winning this Championship is becoming a member. For me to be able to go in the member’s locker room four weeks before Wimbledon, sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat with older members, it’s a lot of fun.”

“I’m fortunate that the Australian greats, we have so many with that tradition and history of the sport, especially here at Wimbledon. I love nothing more than catching up with the old guys and having a chat with them about certain stuff. I think it’s great.”

“You work your whole life to have an opportunity to play on the final Sunday here in Wimbledon, to have a chance of holding up that trophy. Nothing can really compare to that in tennis. I lost first round the next year. But I would have lost first round every other year, I couldn’t care less, I still won it. You can never take that away.

“I don’t live with too many regrets. [But] obviously the one tournament I would have loved to have won was the Australian Open. I don’t have any regrets about it because I did absolutely everything in my power in 2005 to try and win it. I ran into a guy [Marat Safin] who was too good on the night.”

“A lot of [success] comes from the extra one per cent that you do. It’s more behind the scenes, on the practice court, in the gym that will pay off down the line. A lot of these kids that are coming up, the Australians especially, have a lot more firepower than I had. But I had to work on other areas of my game to get the most out of myself.

“It doesn’t have to be a stroke. If you just have that never-say-die attitude in yourself, it will win you a lot of matches,” said Hewitt, who is targeting the 2016 Australian Open as his final tournament.”

Scoop Malinowski is the author of “Facing Hewitt” which is available at amazon and Kindle. Scoop gave Hewitt a copy of “Facing Hewitt” after his quarterfinal win press conference. Perhaps inspired by the book and the positive comments by his ATP peers, Hewitt proceeded to win singles and doubles in Newport 2015.

2 comments

  • Dan Markowitz · June 30, 2015 at 6:09 am

    Good piece here, Scoop. I think Hewitt not unlike Chang at the end, they just ran out of firepower. I’d like to see Hewitt have a little run at the US Open or even Washington DC in the summer. He’s still got the fire and looks very fit. It looked like Jarko was going to run out of gas in the 5th, but it was Hewitt instead who just couldn’t beat Jarko.

    Nice comeback for SteveJo two sets to one down and surprising that Nishikori had such a battle with Boleti.

  • Scoop Malinowski · June 30, 2015 at 7:55 am

    Can never count out Hewitt but one year all year has his confidence tank not only empty but rusty and beginning to rust holes. Hewitt desperately needs a win any kind of win, hopefully he will get a roll going in Davis Cup. Or as Harold has suggested, play mixed doubles. ) Johnson had that monster win at FO last year from two sets down to Lokoli, he has proven himself to be a remarkable fighter and comeback king. Karlovic in a struggle with young Elias, 67 22m just blew a BP, Ivo is a hodgepodge of attire, Head hat, adidas shirt, Li Ning shoes, but at 36 he’s a seed in Kei’s section, remember Ivo crushed Kei in Miami easily, Kei hates to play the big servers.

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