Lleyton Hewitt and other Wimbledon men’s outsiders
While the main focus heading into Wimbledon will inevitably be the respective title chances of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and perhaps also last year’s runner-up Andy Roddick, they are not the only players who harbour title hopes at the All England Club.
But of the 128 players that begin the tournament, some stand a better chance of upsetting the status quo than others.
So here are some of the outsiders to look out for.
Lleyton Hewitt
Hewitt broke a 15-match losing streak against Roger Federer in the final of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle and that should be enough to indicate the gritty Australian might be right in the mix during the second week of Wimbledon this year.
A former Wimbledon champion, and four-time winner at the Queen’s Club, it’s no secret that Hewitt enjoys the brief grass-court season and he looks to have hit form at the right time to at least cause some headaches in SW19 this year.
At 29 years of age, Hewitt is running out of time to add a third Grand Slam title to his collection, but he’ll scrap all day in a bid to do so. Last year Andy Roddick proved his undoing in a five-set quarter-final match and it may just take an opponent on a similar trajectory this year to end the world No. 26’s title hopes again.
Tomas Berdych
Berdych finally came of age at the French Open, reaching the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, but the Czech is by no means a clay-court specialist and could carry that form from Paris to London.
At the French Open, the 24-year-old said he’s improved his movement around the court and learned to control his aggression this year. That newfound sense of patience to a big-hitting and big-serving baseline game so far looks to be paying dividends for Berdych, who is another who will arrive at Wimbledon with a victory over Federer under his belt this year.
The world No. 13 knocked Federer out in the fourth round of the Miami Masters 1000, before finishing as runner-up to Roddick in the final. Berdych’s 25-11 win loss record on grass includes the 2007 title in Halle, the same year he reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time – at Wimbledon.
Last year, Berdych reached the fourth round in London, defeating Nikolay Davydenko in the third round before Roddick knocked him out in straight sets in the fourth.
Marin Cilic
After sandwiching an Australian Open semi-final showing between titles and Chennai and Zagreb, Cilic’s 2010 form has cooled somewhat, although he did reach the final on clay in Munich during May.
The 21-year-old joined the throng of top seeds somewhat prematurely heading towards the exits at the Queen’s Club last week, his stay at the Aegon Championship ended by 47th-ranked Michael Llodra in the third round, but could be among those who reverses his fortunes when the action moves to Wimbledon.
To that end, it can’t hurt the world No 12’s chances that 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is in his corner either. Ivanisevic has been working with fellow Croatian Cilic on a part-time basis this year and any tips he can provide on how to play on the lawns at the All England Club should only benefit Cilic heading into the year’s third Grand Slam.
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