Triple test for Hewitt
Triple test for Hewitt
01jan04
LLEYTON Hewitt will attempt a high-stakes juggling act over the next two weeks
as he seeks to reproduce the form that carried him to Davis Cup glory, while
bidding to peak for the Australian Open.
Hewitt and his coach Roger Rasheed have methodically worked to an end-of-season
training regimen designed to generate wins at the Hopman Cup from Sunday and
then at the adidas International in Sydney, where the South Australian has
previously excelled.
But while Hewitt is typically intent on achievement in Perth and at Homebush
Bay, it is the lure of Rod Laver Arena success which drives the dual grand
slam champion hardest.
"We want Lleyton to be playing well over the next two weeks at the Hopman Cup
and in Sydney," Rasheed said. "But, while we want him to be playing well, we
want his absolute best tennis, and for him to peak, at the Australian Open.
"The Hopman Cup, in many ways, is the perfect preparation for him. It's an
event where you can test your skills against high-class opposition in
competition in front of a supportive home crowd.
"It's not a tour event and it's not a grand slam, so while there's pressure,
he can feed off the crowd a bit and get a lift there."
Rasheed has presided over a watershed change in the game Hewitt produced with
chilling consistency to win Wimbledon, the US Open and two Tennis Masters Cups
under Darren Cahill and Jason Stoltenberg.
While Rasheed and Hewitt have yet to team for a singles title, the partnership
last month was instrumental in Australia's Davis Cup final success - an event
which also signalled to the international tennis community the South Australian
baseliner was back to his extraordinary best.
"I think we can expect to see more of that style of tennis," Rasheed said of
Hewitt's new-found aggression. "There's no reason to want to change what we
all saw against Roger Federer in the Davis Cup semi-finals and then against
Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final.
"The goal now is to peak at Melbourne Park."
Hewitt is yet to better the fourth round of the Australian Open in six
attempts.
Strangely, his record at his home grand slam is his worst of the Big Four.
He has won both Wimbledon and the US Open, where he has also reached the
semi-finals on two other occasions, and has made the quarter-finals of the
French Open.
Hewitt is desperate to become the first Australian male to win in Melbourne
since Mark Edmondson in 1976, but will do so without the arguable protection
of a high seeding.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,8294450%255E23216,00.html
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