There was no way to watch Lleyton Hewitt fight back from two sets down, all the way to earn himself a match point but still lose in five brutal sets to Italian Stallion Andreas Seppi 7-5 in the fifth, and not wonder if this was the “Last Hurrah.”
A super fit and focused Hewitt came into Melbourne with such high hopes after defeating Roger Federer in the Brisbane final but a tragic loss like this to Seppi, in the first round could be the end of Hewitt as a threat to make a major second week.
He just can’t finish like he used to. Hewitt can still fight and scrap with the best of em but when it comes down to the critical junctures of a Grand Slam match, Hewitt just keeps coming up short.
The loss to Youzhny in five sets at the US Open last year after blowing 4-l leads in the fourth and fifth sets was devastating. But to fight all the way back from two sets down to earning a match point and then still losing to Seppi could not only be crushing, it could be the final deathblow to Hewitt’s extraordinary drive and self-belief.
The entire match was a fascinating study on so many levels. Hewitt seemed capable of taking charge and dominating – up a break in the first set – but he just couldn’t get over the hump. Seppi, a steady, smart, classy, unsung champion, surely came to win, with three previous wins vs. Hewitt, including a thumping last fall, so we know he was a tough draw for Hewitt.
But with a master class champion like Hewitt you always think he’ll turn back the clock and find that winning key again, you remember Hewitt at his very best, when he could make beating legends like Sampras and Federer look almost elementary.
Against the tricky Seppi, Hewitt showed flashes of his once great brilliance, he did what he does best, he hung in there and battled. And battled and battled to the bitter end.
To my eyes, Hewitt never seemed comfortable in the match, it was a constant struggle for him. But he refused to go down or stay down. There were none of his signature war cries of Come AWwwwwnnn, the Fantatics had a hint of doubt in their chanting, and the look in Hewitt’s eye was more worried and wary than cocky and self-assured.
Remember, how the prime Hewitt always seemed to know he could get himself out of any situation, no matter how dire, smirking, smiling, gritting his teeth, burning his eyes, pump fisting and slashing winners till his victim was subdued. Maybe Hewitt had to use his last surge of greatness to win Brisbane, which required overcoming two very difficult challenges from Kei Nishikori and Roger Federer.
I remember Michael Chang at the end, though also a step slower, also fighting and competing as hard as he possibly could, but he just could not close ’em out anymore. Chang would lose close matches in tiebreakers and blow leads to basic players he would have toyed with in his prime. It took several painful defeats like this but then Chang knew it was over and that was it.
You have to wonder if suffering such an anguishing loss like this to Seppi will crumble the spirit and tenacity of perhaps the greatest pound for pound competitor in tennis history, Lleyton Hewitt.
“A fighter needs dragons to slay.”
An anguished Hewitt left court with head down
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2014 at 6:00 pm
I have never seen a player who symbolized and exemplified the human spirit trying fighting and working as hard as was humanly possible than Lleyton Hewitt. Not Nadal. Not Connors. Not Serena. Hewitt is the ultimate competitor I have ever seen.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2014 at 6:28 pm
Needs more free points off serve – give him a breather.
Scoop Malinowski · January 14, 2014 at 6:44 pm
Hewitt was serving a lot better in Brisbane, good point Andrew. Maybe it’s the pressure cooking tension of being in his favorite major for one of the last times that causes him to tighten up that fraction.
Dan Markowitz · January 14, 2014 at 7:59 pm
Hewitt’s just not that good anymore. He doesn’t have a big serve or forehand and his wheels are not ridiculous anymore. What he did in Brisbane was an anomaly. What he did at the US Open last year was an exception. He’s generally what he is nowadays, a barely Top 50 player. Losing to a player like Seppi who’s not a big gun is disappointing. You take Mac when he was 32, he lost to Edberg in the Rd of 16 at Wimby and Chang in 5 sets at the USO in the 3rd rd. If you’re a legend, even when you’re past your prime, you’re generally not going to lose to anyone but still the best.
Andrew Miller · January 14, 2014 at 8:33 pm
No need for me to defend Hewitt. No doubt he’s upset on the match point. If he were higher ranked he wouldn’t face Seppi rd 1. Seppi is good enough on hard courts to trip players up.
Not like other seeds didn’t have problems vs. No names. Delpo lost a set to rhynew. Raonic lost a set. JJ lost two sets to the lowest ranked player in tournament if not mistaken.
Hewitt was a great front runner. But come from behind is hard and Hewitt wasn’t the best Aussie open player. Its strange that u.s. players play well I u.s. but nowhere else – Aussies are the opposite – anywhere but the Aussie open!
Doogie · January 14, 2014 at 9:35 pm
@ Andrew:
One of your best comments I read here (no joke). You see it realistic. Seppi is a Top25 player – why should Hewitt be a fav in this one???
His times are gone but at some tournaments he will show why he was number 1 once.
And he still sooooo fun to watch as all of u wrote.
Scoop Malinowski · January 15, 2014 at 7:23 am
Hewitt can still fight and come back, remember he was down 0-5 in the fifht at French Open last year and came back and tied it 5-5 but still lost the match. The comeback vs. Seppi was also remarkable, he can still fight back but he just can’t finish the job. Hewitt was serving much better in Brisbane, cracking winners too with forehands. Hewitt is a streak player, he needs to put match wins together to rev up his confidence. He was able to do that in Brisbane. Not in Melbourne. Hewitt needed an easier draw and to get 2-3 solid wins under his belt, to get his confidence to the point of being a contender in the second week. Every tournament is a new tournament, for a now outsider like Hewitt, you have to start all over. Guys like Djokovic Nadal are always on top of their games, confidence is always through the roof. A vet like Hewitt needs to win a lot of matches to get his confidence to soar like it was in Brisbane. Confidnece is fragile. All it takes is a few days off and a tough draw like Seppi and you get sent back to square one.