Tag Archives: Hewitt
Yuletide Bling
Brisbane, Quarterfinals The professional tennis season seems to commence earlier every year, which is to say, less late in the previous year. Eight elite men endorsed by the International Management Group were already darting through Abu Dhabi’s liquid air while … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Endless Saturday
Auckland, Final (1) Ferrer d. (2) Kohlschreiber, 7/6 6/1 A long Saturday kicked off tamely enough as David Ferrer secured his fourth Auckland title, defeating second seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in an uneven yet entirely indicative pair of sets. The score-line … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour, Grand Slams
The Blue Shift
Stockholm, Second Round The news came in last night (over the wire) that Australia has secured a non-permanent place on the United Nations Security Council. For months we have been warned by a succession of government ministers that this was … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
The Careful American
The location is Rod Laver Arena. The situation is the semifinal of the Australian Open. The year is 2005. The month is January. It was a simpler time, and we all spoke in much shorter sentences. The protagonists are Andy … Continue reading
Filed under Players
Believe in the Stars
Olympic Games, Day Four (2) Djokovic d. Roddick, 6/2 6/1 “’Believe in the stars’ . . . It’s like that doesn’t even mean anything anymore.†The disillusioned words of Kenneth Ellen Parcell rang in my ears as Andy Roddick’s celestially … Continue reading
Filed under ITF
A Gibbering Wreck
Olympic Games, Day Three My patriotic commitment to follow the planet’s least understated sporting festival in real time was always going to result in total exhaustion eventually, given the cruel decision to stage it ten time zones in the past. … Continue reading
Filed under ITF
A Question of Experience
Australian Open, Third Round (Day Six) Hewitt d. (23) Raonic, 4/6 6/3 7/6 7/3 There are moments when Jim Courier’s urge to turn a phrase trumps his faltering inspiration, and leads him inexorably into verbiage, if not downright garbiage. “Hello, … Continue reading
Filed under Grand Slams
Good Clean Fun
‘Watch Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt take on China’s finest, tonight at the Hopman Cup!’ implored my television, via a promo pregnant with subtext. The subtext read that Hewitt is no longer Australia’s finest, and that China’s finest – Wu Di – … Continue reading
Old News
Winston-Salem, First Round Kavcic d. Hewitt, 6/4 7/6 The news is now a long day old that Lleyton Hewitt has withdrawn from the US Open, a tournament he won a decade ago. What meagre shock the announcement might have engendered … Continue reading
Filed under ATP Tour
Great Matches You’ve Probably Never Heard Of #6
San Jose, 2002, Final Hewitt d. Agassi, 4/6 7/6 7/6 When the time comes to compose the definitive history of tennis – doubtless to commemorate a milestone in the game’s development, perhaps its passing – there will almost certainly be … Continue reading
Filed under Great Matches