Roger Federer has 13 victories in a row over Lleyton Hewitt in a six-year domination of their rivalry, but the World No 1 still respects the Australian as a threat to his reign at the US Open.
Roger Federer has 13 victories in a row over Lleyton Hewitt in a six-year domination of their rivalry, but the World No 1 still respects the Australian as a threat to his reign at the US Open.
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Federer has won five titles in a row and 37 consecutive matches at Flushing Meadows entering his third-round meeting with Hewitt, a former World No 1 who won the 2001 US Open title, at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
"Everyone starts from zero, unfortunately for me," Federer said. "I'm intrigued about this matchup. It's an incredible run for me against him. I cannot believe I've beaten him that many times in a row."
Neither can Hewitt. But then, no one has beaten Hewitt 14 times in a row and the 28-year-old from Adelaide figures now is the time to stop his slide.
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| Lleyton Hewitt |
"It's a lot easier said than done. You've got to go out there and execute it against possibly the greatest player that has picked up a racket," Hewitt said. "For me, though, this is why I still play the game, to have challenges like this."
Another triumph over Hewitt would ensure Federer's place atop the rankings no matter what happens at the US Open, but the Swiss star doubts it will be easy even though he last lost to the Aussie in a 2003 Davis Cup semi-final tie.
"A former No 1, a guy who has won majors, is very dangerous," Federer said. I have to make sure I get into the match quickly, not give him the lead, because he's not going to go down without a fight. He's physically almost as tough as anyone out there.
"You've got to respect the player he is and the champion he is. A player of this caliber can have a good day. I have not every day a good day, so if things go bad, you lose very quickly, especially against a quality player like him."
Federer seeks his third Slam crown in a row after completing a career Grand Slam at the French Open in June and winning a record 15th career major crown at Wimbledon in July.
"There's not a lot of guys that have been able to beat him, especially here," Hewitt said. "He's obviously extremely confident at the moment, coming off the last two majors as well. It's going to take someone to play a great match against him."
Hewitt lost their only meeting this year in a Cincinnati quarter-final and has such familiarity with Federer's game that tactical preparation will be critical in this rematch of the 2004 US Open final.
"I've been on the receiving end of the losses the last lots of times so it's a matter of trying to work out the best way of going about it," Hewitt said. "Not too many guys have been able to have that success and found the perfect recipe of playing Roger. That's probably the hardest thing."
Hewitt sees Federer as more relaxed now that his pursuit of the old all-time Slam title mark of 14 by Pete Sampras is over and the career Slam is complete.
"He was probably always going to get the 15 once he got so close," Hewitt said. "I think the French was probably the biggest relief for him. He had come so close. I think that was probably a huge monkey off his back."
Federer, whose overall career edge on Hewitt is 15-7, is a new father while Hewitt has experience at being a tour father. The Aussie sees no edge in that fact, however.
"It hasn't (slowed Federer) so far. I don't think it will too much," Hewitt said. "It didn't affect my tennis. Traveling is a little bit different. A lot of it is around what was best for the baby more so than your preparation.
"That's what you deal with. You go back to the hotel room and you're not thinking about tennis as much. Kids don't care if you got a match the next day or not."
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