Hewitt only threat to the Fed Express

14 April 2012

Roger Federer breezed past his first Wimbledon hurdle on Centre Court today, leaving SW19 to ask who on earth can stop the majestic Swiss winning his third successive singles crown.

Yet on court one, former champion Lleyton Hewitt offered up the notion that he could be the one to halt the Fed Express with an emphatic demolition job of his own.

The first two big guns in action on a muggy afternoon at the All England Club gave an illustration of why this could be a vintage men's championship as they roared to straight-set triumphs.

Opening the defence of his crown, No1 seed Federer, even while showing only glimpses of his magisterial best, took an hour and 49 minutes to dispose of stubborn Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.

The Swiss champ served 18 aces once he got into his stride yet, if anything, Hewitt, the No3 seed, offered a more impressive opening salvo with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 crushing of Belgian Christophe Rochus. Not noted for his delivery, the Australian actually banged down 19 aces.

If he continues to serve like that and drill the sort of groundstrokes which quickly put paid to his useful opponent, the 2002 champion, who many believe should have been seeded second ahead of Andy Roddick for these championships, could be best equipped to give Federer a run for his money if they meet in the semis as scheduled.

Federer was a little off the boil today by his own imperious standards and was perhaps offered a sterner test than expected as world No58 Mathieu recovered from early nerves to even have the temerity to break straight back for 2-2 after the champion had won the first two games without breaking sweat.

Looking somewhat rusty despite his recent grass-court triumph in Halle, Federer made heavier weather of the opening set than he would have expected, making more than a few mistakes.

Yet he eventually stepped up a gear into more serene mode, breaking Mathieu twice and making only one error while rattling off the second-set in 34 minutes. It set up the Swiss for his 30th successive victory on grass, the greatest unbeaten sequence on the surface in the open era since Bjorn Borg, as he broke through to win the last set in 37 minutes after some stubborn resistance from the Swiss-based Frenchman.

John McEnroe, among others, noted the other day that Federer is now so far ahead of his grass-court contemporaries that he can afford to play well below his best and still take the title, but Hewitt offered the sort of performance today which suggests he could be extremely dangerous.

Despite problems with his cracked ribs recently, Hewitt has recovered sufficiently to be serving superbly, leaving Rochus, a serial first-round loser in this tournament, unable to make any significant returns, even on a slowish court.

The Australian broke his opponent in the fourth game with a supremely well-executed drop volley, only then to show the first hint of weakness with a poor service game, which he lost on a double fault. It was his one and only setback.

"The first round of any Grand Slam is tough and I just wanted to get it out of the way as quick as possible," said Hewitt afterwards.

"It was a good hit-out without wasting a lot of energy and I'm pleased to have served extremely well," he added.

"The ribs haven't given me any problem and I'm happy with the way I'm at."

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Hewitt only threat to the Fed Express

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