A small, scrappy, resolute retriever, Lleyton Hewitt fits the profile of a French Open champion.
Except that he's Australian. The last player from Down Under to win the men's championship at Roland Garros was Rod Laver in 1969.
PHOTO: AFP
Hewitt thinks he can do it.
"The more I play on this surface, the more confident I get," the Australian said after beating Xavier Malisse of Belgium 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (6) in the fourth round Monday. "I believe in myself. I believe in my ability that I can match it with the best guys on this surface."
Hewitt will play for a berth in the semifinals when he faces Gaston Gaudio of Argentina on Wednesday. That would be the best effort yet at Roland Garros by Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion who has never won a European clay-court title.
Laver's run to the French Open title came the year he swept all four major events. Since then, the only Australians to reach the men's semifinals at Roland Garros have been Phil Dent in 1977 and Patrick Rafter in 1997.
Hewitt made the quarterfinals in 2001, the year he rose to No. 1, and he's ranked just 12th now. Still ...
"I'm a lot better player on clay overall now, and more experienced, obviously, on this surface," he said. "Even when I was No. 1 in the world, I wasn't one of the big favorites, I don't think, to win this title."
Hewitt reached the quarterfinals by beating four Europeans, including No. 19-seeded Martin Verkerk of the Netherlands, the 2003 runner-up. Now he faces the unseeded Gaudio, one of four Argentines among the final eight.
The other quarterfinal Wednesday will match three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil against David Nalbandian of Argentina. Kuerten, seeded 28th, beat Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, and No. 8 Nalbandian ended No. 20 Marat Safin's wild run at Roland Garros, 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3.
Safin played with tape on both hands to cover blisters that developed during a five-set victory in the third round Saturday. He required treatment from a trainer at least seven times.
"The hands I don't care about actually anymore, because I'm just a little bit frustrated," the former US Open champion said. "It was another big opportunity for me to fight for a title. To waste the opportunity this way is a pity."
Malisse wasted repeated chances to extend his match against Hewitt. The Belgian held five set points in the third set and failed to close out the tiebreaker after leading 6-3.
"I was just happy to get out of that third set and get off the court," Hewitt said. "You never know with this tournament. So many times you can have so many tough matches in the early stages, and you can wear yourself out."
Hewitt has played 16 sets in his four victories. Gaudio has played 17, including a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 win Monday over Igor Andreev.
The Argentine and Hewitt are 2-2 in previous meetings and they've gone 1-1 this spring, with both matches on clay. In April, Hewitt came back from a set and 0-3 down to overcome Gaudio 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 and saved two match points.
"He's very confident on this surface," Hewitt said. "I'm still a long way away from winning the title."
David Nalbandian thinks its "quite unusual." Gaston Gaudio says he's one step closer to a boyhood dream.
Argentina has four players in a Grand Slam tournament's quarterfinals for the first time -- and perhaps that's not so shocking at the French Open, given their comfort on clay courts.
But tell that to them.
"It's really surprising for everyone," said the eighth-seeded Nalbandian, who overpowered No. 20 Marat Safin of Russia 7-5, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the fourth round Monday. "It's incredible."
Gaudio beat another Russian, Igor Andreev, 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
"It's great, I never thought this could happen. To be four Argentines in the final!" said Gaudio, only once even as far as the fourth round at 20 previous majors.
They join compatriots Guillermo Coria and Juan Ignacio Chela in the final eight. Today, No. 3 Coria plays No. 5 Carlos Moya of Spain, and No. 22 Chela faces No. 9 Tim Henman of Britain.
The promising pack of Argentines is still chasing the glory of their role model Guillermo Vilas, the last Argentine to win the French Open -- in 1977. Vilas won a total of four Grand Slam titles.
Coria, named after the former star, is considered the best clay-courter around with a 20-1 record this year.
On Wednesday, Gaudio meets No. 12 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, while Nalbandian faces three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil.
There's another big Argentina-Brazil clash Wednesday: The countries' soccer teams square off in a World Cup qualifier.
"Let's hope it's a victory -- 2-0," Nalbandian said.
DIVIDED LOYALTIES
Kim Clijsters might have been divided over how to root when her fiancee Lleyton Hewitt faced Xavier Malisse.
Clijsters cheered for Malisse, a fellow Belgian, when he played 2002 French Open champion Albert Costa in the third round.
But Monday, she clapped only for Hewitt.
Hewitt, a former No. 1 and two-time major champion, cruised past fourth-round opponent Malisse 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (6).
Often, after hitting winners, Hewitt would glance over at Clijsters in the stands. Other times, he cheered himself on with cries of "Come on!"
BAD LANGUAGE
Marat Safin's argument is this: If other professional athletes can swear without getting fined, why not tennis players?
"You haven't seen the soccer players? I mean we are pretty decent compared to them," Safin said, noting also that National Football League and National Basketball Association players in the US tend to use "a lot of good words" during games -- without penalty.
Prompted by a reporter's question, Safin returned to his discussion of what's wrong with his sport. He said tennis has too many rules, which are sapping entertainment value for viewers.
The Russian, who is seldom shy about expressing his emotions on or off court, was fined US$500 earlier in the tournament for throwing a racket.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Crowds descended on the home of 17-year-old Chinese diver Quan Hongchan after she won two golds at the Paris Olympics while gymnast Zhang Boheng hid in a Beijing airport toilet to escape overzealous throngs of fans. They are just two recent examples of what state media are calling “toxic fandom” and Chinese authorities have vowed to crack down on it. Some of the adulation toward China’s sports stars has been more sinister — fans obsessing over athletes’ personal lives, cyberbullying opponents or slamming supposedly crooked judges. Experts say it mirrors the kind of behavior once reserved for entertainment celebrities before
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
RSS