In the end, it was much like the beginning of their rivalry – not much of one. For the fourth time in five matches, Lleyton Hewitt made Andy Roddick look downright ordinary in the clutch, brilliantly seizing two tiebreakers from the world’s fastest server en route to 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1 victory Friday and advancing to the Australian Open final.
Roddick appeared to have the match solidly in his control up until the second set tiebreaker, bombing ace after ace, adeptly moving his backhand around and making some sound decisions as to when to rush the net. But Hewitt seriously stepped up his level in the second set breaker and beyond, crushing big first serves, hammering his once weaker forehand and daring Roddick to go for too much on the big points.
The supremely focused Hewitt now will attempt to become the first Australian man to win here since Mark Edmondson in 1976, when he confronts Russian Marat Safin. “Obviously, Marat’s beaten the best player going around. He’s playing extremely well. I’m going to have to raise my level yet again and see what happens,” Hewitt said.
Even though he had the tour’s best tiebreak record amongst elite players last year, Roddick appears to have lost his touch when sudden death rolls along. In the Davis Cup final, he dropped critical breakers to both Rafael Nadal and Carlos Moya and against Hewitt, he inexplicably lost his focus. In the third set, Roddick let go of a 4-2 lead when he double faulted twice to 4-4. In the breaker, Hewitt crushed a backhand return of serve that the on-rushing couldn’t scoop up to grab a 5-4 lead. Then Roddick then missed a negotiable return and saw Hewitt whip a backhand passing shot by him to grab the set.
The American completely collapsed in the fourth set and it is now clear that despite what the rankings say, Roddick;s the world’s No. 4 behind Roger Federer, Hewitt and Marat Safin. ‘I’m usually pretty money in the [tiebreakers],” Roddick said. “Either one of those would have given me a distinct advantage.. I felt I was in there with a shot. He put himself in position to win big points. I donated a little more than I would have wanted.”
Roddick leaves Australia in a similar state to the one he was in at the US Open. There, he cruised through his first four matches before being shocked by Joachim Johansson. Here, he swept through his first five before being unable to answer the bell against Hewitt. While Roddick has improved his game technically over the past year, he’s still too vulnerable with his volley, backhand and strategically when the going gets tough against the other star performers. ” I knew that I was playing well enough that, given the opportunity, I would have a serious shot at [the title],” he said. “And I think that’s all you can do, is put yourself in position to succeed. And he’s certainly done that so far this tournament. …I’m pissed off. I’m mad.”
Interestingly, both men have come under criticism for parting with their coaches in past couple years – Roddick for letting go of Brad Gilbert in December and Hewitt for not coming to terms with Darren Cahill. Roddick’s new relationship with Dean Goldfine doesn’t seem to have taken him much further yet, but it’s still too early to tell. But Hewitt’s now two-year stint with former Aussie Rules footballer and satellite player Roger Rasheed appears to be paying off, as his conditioning is much improved and as a result, he has more power ion his first serve and forehand. “It’s awesome . . . nine months ago, I started preparing for this tournament and we’ve put in a lot of hard yards. I always said that I’d do anything to have an opportunity to play in the first night final in the Australian Open men’s history and I’ve got my chance,” Hewitt said.
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