Djokovic fights past Hewitt in four sets
Novak Djokovic overcame illness and a difficult opponent in Leyton Hewitt to secure his place in the quarter-finals after a dogged 7-5 – 6-4 – 3-6 – 6-4 victory.
In what looked to be destined for a first set tie-break Djokovic managed to break Leyton Hewitt’s serve in the last game to take a one-set lead.
Both men played equally well up until that point but it was Djokovic who made the first break through with some precise shot making.
With 12 winners the Serbian No.1 hit double the amount of his Australian counterpart and needed just the one break point to take the set in 43 minutes under the blistering sun on No.1 Court.
The second set played out much the same as the first which both men going toe-to-toe with their ground strokes. And just like in the first set Djokovic broke Hewitt late in the set to win the set, this time he broke whilst Hewitt was serving at 4-5.
After a rally which saw over 20 shots made it was Hewitt who made the critical error, hitting his shot long and handing Djokovic the set with the second break point of game.
With the world No.3 in complete control and 2-1 up in the third set he called for the doctor and received some medication for his ailment.
But that opened the door for Hewitt and the Australian attacked Djokovic in his next service game and claimed his first break points of the match. He failed to make the first one but kept his composure to make the second and in typical Hewitt fashion yelled “come on!” as he took a 3-2 lead, which he consolidated on his next service game.
Whatever was bothering Djokovic clearly had an effect on his game and the Serb clearly struggled on his serve, giving up three break points to Hewitt before saving them with some big serves. In his next service game at 3-5 Djokovic again found himself 0-40 down and but this time he could only save two of the break points to lose the third set 3-6.
Whatever momentum Hewitt brought with him into the fourth set, he quickly threw it away as a series combination of poor shots and winners from Djokovic gave the Serb the early break in the set.
Hewitt’s next service game was another shaky one as he battled to save two break points in the third game. That shakiness spread to Djokovic who after being up 40-15 in his next service game went on to have his serve broken and the set was level at 2-2.
Hewitt’s intensity returned and the 15th seed took his next service game to love.
At 4-4 the big break came. Djokovic using everything he had left forced a break point and was gifted the break when Hewitt double faulted to find himself 4-5 down.
Djokovic then served out the game to love finishing the match with a thunderous cross-court forehand to take the final set 6-4 and secure his place in the quarter-finals.
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