Lleyton Hewitt's success

[TennisPassion5]

Is it just me or shouldn't his game really be suited for clay as opposed to grass? Lleyton has had his fair share of success on clay and although he didn't grow up playing on it, shouldn't his counterpounching style be better suited for that than grass? Grass is obviously the fastest surface and that is where one of his two grand slams came from and where he always does good on. On clay, Lleyton has never won a Masters shield nor Major on clay. Maybe the 21th century has just been surrounded by clay court specialists can attribute to the cause. But, that is not as surprising as his success on grass is. What makes his game suited to grass? Obviously, Lleyton is a great player and is well rounded on all surfaces, but his winning on grass is ironic to me.

 

[GameSampras]

Is it just me or shouldn't his game really be suited for clay as opposed to grass? Lleyton has had his fair share of success on clay and although he didn't grow up playing on it, shouldn't his counterpounching style be better suited for that than grass? Grass is obviously the fastest surface and that is where one of his two grand slams came from and where he always does good on. On clay, Lleyton has never won a Masters shield nor Major on clay. Maybe the 21th century has just been surrounded by clay court specialists can attribute to the cause. But, that is not as surprising as his success on grass is. What makes his game suited to grass? Obviously, Lleyton is a great player and is well rounded on all surfaces, but his winning on grass is ironic to me.

Well.. grass had already slowed quite a bit by the time Lleyton got a Wimbeldon crown. They slowed it down in 2001, and Hewitt won in 2002.

 

[thejoe]

Well.. grass had already slowed quite a bit by the time Lleyton got a Wimbeldon crown. They slowed it down in 2001, and Hewitt won in 2002.

Yeah, but he had great results at Queens. Even took out Sampras a couple of times.

 

[GameSampras]

Rubbish...............

Umm.. No its a FACT!!

 

[GameSampras]

Yeah, but he had great results at Queens. Even took out Sampras a couple of times.

Alright u have a point. LOL

 

[thejoe]

^It is true.

 

[thejoe]

So how long you been employed by the All England Grass Court club?

Dude, it's true. It's really obvious.

 

[thejoe]

^In 2002, it was sloooow. Still is.

 

[GameSampras]

The reason why Hewitt won Wimbledon was because it WAS fast...

Same reason he won the US Open, and never won a French..

Wimbeldon was fast prior to 2001. Not after 2001.

The USO have a point as does the other poster TheJoe above me about Hewitt defeating Pete at Queens. But the Wimbeldon surface change is a fact from 01 on. Even to this day they contiue to sod the surface to the moon.

 

[thejoe]

Wimbeldon was fast prior to 2001. Not after 2001.

The USO have a point as does the other poster TheJoe above me about Hewitt defeating Pete at Queens. But the Wimbeldon surface change is a fact from 01 on. Even to this day they contiue to sod the surface to the moon.

Correct.
10 char

 

[thejoe]

Rule #1

Never argue with any member that has his idol at his user name, or pic in his avatar. Its like talking to a pregnant mango.. Interesting and funny at first. But at the end of the day. Its just like any other pregnant mango....

Huh? I don't usually agree with the guy, but he isn't posting opinions here. He's stating facts.

 

[GameSampras]

Huh? I don't usually agree with the guy, but he isn't posting opinions here. He's stating facts.

LOL.. Fed fans usually dont agree with me. :twisted:

 

[The-Champ]

Well.. grass had already slowed quite a bit by the time Lleyton got a Wimbeldon crown. They slowed it down in 2001, and Hewitt won in 2002.

Karlovic thumped him to the ground as defending champ in 2003. Hewitt couldn't even touch his second serve. The trajectory of the giant's serve was just insane.


That was a first round encounter btw.


That's why I declare Karlovic as someone with the most devastating serve i have ever seen.

 

[GameSampras]

Because he wants everyone to remember who god is...

Anyway, I accept his opinion. I simply dont agree with it..

For god sakes man.. Wimbeldon is a slower surface now. Its not opinion, its a FACT. It used to be the fastest surface on tour. Now its one of the slowest

 

[EndLy]

Karlovic thumped him to the ground as defending champ in 2003. Hewitt couldn't even touch his second serve. The trajectory of the giant's serve was just insane.


That was a first round encounter btw.


That's why I declare Karlovic as someone with the most devastating serve i have ever seen.

i remember that match, lol wasn't it the first time a #1 ranked player lost in the first round of wimbledon? i don't remember what court they were playing on though.. i think it was Court 2 though

 

[thejoe]

i remember that match, lol wasn't it the first time a #1 ranked player lost in the first round of wimbledon? i don't remember what court they were playing on though.. i think it was Court 2 though

I think it was the first time the defending champ had lost in the first round.

 

[GameSampras]

Karlovic thumped him to the ground as defending champ in 2003. Hewitt couldn't even touch his second serve. The trajectory of the giant's serve was just insane.


That was a first round encounter btw.


That's why I declare Karlovic as someone with the most devastating serve i have ever seen.

Well if Karlovic serve is so giant how come the last 4 of the last 5 years or so, Karlo has FAILED to even get out of the first round of Wimbeldon? Slower surface maybe?

 

[The-Champ]

Just like Murray, Hewitt doesn't move quite as well on clay as he does on other surfaces.

Like Hewitt, Murray will never win the FO.

 

[GameSampras]

I don't dissagree it is slower NOW..

2002 it wasn't..

Yes it was compared to 2000. The year prior to when they began to slow the surface.

 

[The-Champ]

Well if Karlovic serve is so giant how come the last 4 of the last 5 years or so, Karlo has FAILED to even get out of the first round of Wimbeldon? Slower surface maybe?

So 2003 it was really fast? A returner of Hewitt's caliber couldn't touch his serve.


yes, the grass is slow but Karlovic has done nothing at the USO as well. Give the guy Edbergs mobility and volleys or Nalbandian's groundies and he'll be USO GOAT.

 

[Breaker]

1.) Hewitt grew up on grass, leading to natural movement on the surface versus relatively weaker movement on clay.

2.) Hewitt enjoys the ball moving through the court more so that he can counterpunch with his own pace and angles, on clay his balls sit up more and have him lose the ability to control rallies in the way he wants to.

3.) Opponents come to net more on a grass court, Hewitt's game is made for playing serve and volley type players/ constant net rushers.

4.) His return of serve is perfect weapon on a faster court. He can consistently dip the ball low against a serve and volley type player or take the initiative with the court feeding off of his flatter shots, giving him control of rallies on these courts. On a clay court dipping returns generally aren't needed and there's always a risk in going for an aggressive return as the court won't carry his ball, leading to many more neutral rallies.

5.) His flat/slice serves are rewarded on a grass court/faster court, lacking a good kick serve doesn't hurt him as he could go for aces and rely on the court to carry his second serves through and allow him to still remain neutral or in control of a point. On clay his low first serve % as well as not having a reliable kick serve lead to him playing too much defence on a clay court, and when combined with the other factors leads to his relatively weak clay court results.

 

[lawrence]

Huh? I don't usually agree with the guy, but he isn't posting opinions here. He's stating facts.

until someone from this board arrives and has proof that he's played on the courts prior to 2001 and post 2001, its an opinion not a fact.
i dont care who beat who, when and how, but none of us have actually hit on the surface, so how can it possibly be a solid fact?

and to the OP: hewitt would've never played on clay in australia, all the courts would've been grass or HC

 

[aphex]

For god sakes man.. Wimbeldon is a slower surface now. Its not opinion, its a FACT. It used to be the fastest surface on tour. Now its one of the slowest

even though i agree with you, when you use the word "fact", you should back it up...

 

[fps]

until someone from this board arrives and has proof that he's played on the courts prior to 2001 and post 2001, its an opinion not a fact.
i dont care who beat who, when and how, but none of us have actually hit on the surface, so how can it possibly be a solid fact?

and to the OP: hewitt would've never played on clay in australia, all the courts would've been grass or HC

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1815724,00.html

as for "one of the members of this forum has to hit on it", what a load of rubbish, that's no way to gather information, you'd trust one of us having a hit over, say Henman's complaints about the courts slowing, or an article printed to journalistic standards reporting the changing of the surface??

 

[aphex]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1815724,00.html

as for "one of the members of this forum has to hit on it", what a load of rubbish, that's no way to gather information, you'd trust one of us having a hit over, say Henman's complaints about the courts slowing, or an article printed to journalistic standards reporting the changing of the surface??

yep...that's what i call facts

 

[gpt]

Hewitt did not grow up on grass. It is a myth that Australians grow up playing on grass. In Adelaide it's mostly hard courts and en tout cas (coarse clay).

 

[allcourter2008]

One reason is that fast surfaces reward exceptional returners like Hewitt in his prime. Slower surfaces make it difficult for Hewitt to hit winners.

He's probably one of the players that suffered the most from the overall surface slow-down.

 

[some6uy008]

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1815724,00.html

as for "one of the members of this forum has to hit on it", what a load of rubbish, that's no way to gather information, you'd trust one of us having a hit over, say Henman's complaints about the courts slowing, or an article printed to journalistic standards reporting the changing of the surface??

Interesting read, thanks!

 

[prosealster]

simple answer...hewitt doesnt have the firepower to hit thru others on slow courts

 

[tintin]

Hewitt doesn't posses 1 huge shot in his game that can overpower anyone.
He has a decent serve
weak 2nd serve
he isn't as fast as he used to
he goes cross court to cross court when he plays
you can wrong foot him
he is a grinder nd he takes balls early so it might work for him
he has better footwork and speed than Roddick but still you can take him out easily on clay

 

[nickynu]

yEAH USED TO LOVE WATCHING HEWITT - THE BEST MATCH I EVER SAW HIM PLAY WAS I THINK AT THE US OPEN ONE YEAR WHEN HE SEEMED ON COURSE TO HAND A TRIPLE BAGEL TO ONE OF THE TOP SPANIARDS (ALEX CORRETJA FROM MEMORY BUT COULD BE WRONG)

I think the real problem with Hewitts game is not the surface but the style he played/plays. The attritional game based on will power and sheer bloody mindedness is eventually going to burn anyone out. Thats why the c'mons dont seem to have the intensity they once had.

Hewitts not going to make it back near the top of the game again. It might even be time to sell my 2 SUPER RD TOUR 90s :shock::shock:- now that was a players racket

 

[RoddickAce]

Yeah, but you need to be able to generate your own pace to hit through the shot. Also, hewitt hits relatively flat, so his shots don't travel through the court on clay well.