Adidas International 2004
Hewitt quickly finds his groove
By LEO SCHLINK January 13, 2004
LLEYTON Hewitt yesterday completed a triumphant return to ranked tournament
competition, feeding off the high of Davis Cup success to maintain an unbeaten
run stretching back to the US Open.
The former world champion demolished tough Armenian Sargis Sargsian 6-4 6-2 to
safely reach the adidas International's second round – where he will face
either Slovakian Karol Kucera or Spaniard Felician Lopez – to add an ominous
touch to his Australian Open preparations.
Revelling under the aggressive counsel of coach Roger Rasheed, Hewitt was not
fazed by an unforced error count of 34, instead being elated with the 22
winners which rocketed from his racquet strings.
"I was expecting a tough match," said Hewitt, whose sporadic tour appearances
since the US Open in September include wins over Roger Federer, Juan Carlos
Ferrero, Atilla Savolt, Xavier Malisse and Kucera.
"I think he [Sargsian] beat Philippoussis in the Aussie Open last year in the
third round and he's a very tough player on this court.
"He hits the ball pretty flat [and] he's a great mover around the court."
While there has been little quantity surrounding Hewitt's tennis since the
Wimbledon and US Open winner was forced off the circuit to have a wart removed
from his left foot, the quality which carted the baseliner to the peak of the
game has returned.
So much so, Hewitt yesterday declared he is hitting the ball as well as ever
on the eve of an Australian Open.
"I feel like I'm hitting the ball just as well, if not better," Hewitt said,
referring to his two-season stint as world No. 1.
"It's been a totally different preparation [this season] whereas the years
before I've always come off the Masters Cup and playing a lot of matches.
"This year, I focused on the Davis Cup final and did a lot of hard work and
training that'd last right through the Australian summer."
Now ranked 17th in the world after turning his back on the chance to
consolidate his ranking on the late-season European indoor swing, Hewitt
believes the pressure to become Australia's first male champion since Mark
Edmondson in 1976 will be as acute as ever.
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