Hewitt Faces Barrage from Big Servers at Wimbledon
Hewitt Faces Barrage from Big Servers at Wimbledon
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By Ossian Shine
LONDON (Reuters) - Top seed Lleyton Hewitt will have to survive a
barrage from the biggest serves in tennis if he is to retain his
Wimbledon title.
The Australian opens his defense on Monday against a qualifier and,
barring upsets, will next meet former champion Richard Krajicek (news).
American Andy Roddick, the fastest server in the game, could await
him further down the track.
"A lot of grand slam draws can look tough at the start," Hewitt said on
Tuesday. "But it depends how it pans out. You've got to just see how it
all opens up."
Serena Williams the world No. 1 and defending champion, and her sister
Venus were kept out of the same half of the women's draw and could meet
in a repeat of last year's final.
World No. 1 Andre Agassi (news), the second men's seed, plays British
wild card Jamie Delgado in the first round and has Russian powerhouse
Marat Safin in his quarter of the draw.
Tenth-seeded Tim Henman -- the home nation's great hope -- faces Spanish
claycourt specialist Alex Corretja (news) in the first round and is in
the same quarter as Argentina's David Nalbandian, last year's runner-up,
and Dutchman Martin Verkerk, beaten finalist at the 2003 French Open .
Roland Garros champion and Wimbledon third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero is
also in Henman's section of the draw.
TOUGHER DRAW
Hewitt could hardly have been handed a tougher draw at the grasscourt
grand slam. Provided he finds a way past 1996 champion Krajicek of the
Netherlands, he could well meet American Taylor Dent -- possessor of the
world's second-fastest serve -- in the third round. Fifth seed Roddick,
who shares a 149 mph top serve with Briton Greg Rusedski, was also drawn
in Hewitt's quarter and the pair could meet in the last eight.
"You get some good draws and some tougher ones," Hewitt told reporters.
"But you know, I feel that I can step on court on any given day, on any
given surface, and if I play my 'A' game I am good enough to beat anybody.
"I've got a qualifier first... that is always tough. They've got a few
matches behind them. Then obviously Krajicek. But I've got to take it one
match at a time."
Agassi's draw seems tame by comparison. The 1992 Wimbledon champion,
winner of eight grand slam titles, should have few problems getting
past the 456th-ranked Delgado.
Younes El Aynaoui is the first seed he is due to meet in the third round
and the Moroccan, a first-round loser last year, poses little threat on
grass.
Former world No. 1 Safin, the 18th seed, or 14th seed Xavier Malisse,
a semi-finalist last year, are seeded to meet Agassi in the fourth round,
but both players are notoriously erratic. Australia's Mark Philippoussis
is also a dangerous presence in that section of the draw.
Serena Williams faces fellow American Jill Craybas in the opening round
while second seed Kim Clijsters of Belgium opens against Paraguay's Rossana
Neffa-De Los Rios.
French Open champion Justine Henin-Hardenne, who beat Serena to reach the
Paris final, opens against Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko while twice champion
Venus Williams -- seeded fourth -- meets a qualifier.
The Wimbledon championships run from June 23 to July 6.
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來自YAHOO...
但是Krajicek已經退賽嚕.....
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※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.csie.ntu.edu.tw)
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