Saturday, January 23, 2010

Winners Everywhere For Lleyton

Everything is falling the way of Lleyton Hewitt at the moment. He cannot put a foot wrong.

At this year's Australian Open, he has not dropped a set as of yet. But more importantly, he is playing with such determination and professionalism that has intimidated many of his opponents. Cyprus' Marcos Baghdatis gave Hewitt the easiest of victories yesterday, retiring hurt in the second set after Hewitt won the first 6-0.

However, Hewitt faces a massive challenge on Monday, and they don't come any bigger than that of Roger Federer. The Swiss Maestro has looked comfortable in his three matches so far, but certainly hasn't set the world on fire yet. Hewitt loves the big stage and with momentum on his side, a terrific fitness level and a supportive home crowd, this could be Hewitt's time to shine.
Two men that continue to go under the radar are Nikolay Davydenko and Novak Djokovic.
Davydenko hasn't dropped a set to date, however he hasn't played a match on Rod Laver Arena or Hisense Arena as of yet, therefore he hasn't had much of the spotlight. He'll face Spain's Fernando Verdasco on Monday, which should be a ripper of a contest, with the winner taking on the winner of the Federer-Hewitt match. Djokovic is having a dream run at the moment and faces a relativley unknown Polish player next. He'll be fresh if he makes it deep into the finals, so look out for the big Serbian to make an impact.
On the women's side of things, it looks to be very even also. The two Williams sisters are as solid as always, while there are five Russian's still remaining in the final 16. One of them, Nadia Petrova, looks dangerous, with her total domination of U.S. Open champion Kim Clijsters sending a powerful message to the rest of the locker room. Also, Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki has been super impressive.
Both draws are so even. I'm sticking with Serena Williams to win the women's event. However, Djokovic's attractive draw has me thinking that he might just take out his second Australian Open title.

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