Lleyton Hewitt believes his knowledge of the unique demands of playing on Wimbledon's grass-court will prove decisive in his third round clash with Gael Monfils on Friday.
Lleyton Hewitt believes his knowledge of the unique demands of playing on Wimbledon's grass-court will prove decisive in his third round clash with Gael Monfils on Friday.
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Hewitt knows exactly what it takes to succeed on the lush lawns of south-west London after winning the men's singles title in 2002.
The 29-year-old is regarded as a serious contender at the All England Club this year and he was able to reach the last 32 without expending too much energy when Evgeny Korolev pulled out of their second round match due to injury with the Australian leading 6-4, 6-4, 3-0.
Now Hewitt will face French 21st seed Monfils in a fascinating tie, which pits the grass-court cunning of Hewitt against Monfils's athletic prowess.
While Monfils has bags of ability, the 23-year-old has never been past the third round at Wimbledon and Hewitt is confident that lack of time on grass will prove the difference.
"He loves a target and he moves extremely well, although probably a bit better on clay and hard courts than grass," Hewitt said.
"He's obviously got a big wing-span out there and a good first serve. But I think I'll match up pretty well if I can go out and execute what I want to do.
"It's a matter of going out there and still playing my game."
Hewitt's former coach Roger Rasheed is now guiding Monfils's development, but the Australian doesn't think that will give his opponent a significant advantage.
"I don't think so. We've played a couple of times, I think he knows my game reasonably well and I know his pretty well," he said.
"Once we're out there, it's going to be a different match because it's on grass, and I think that's going to be the biggest and hopefully most telling point for me."
Hewitt is seeded 15th -- 11 places above his current world ranking -- thanks in large part to a shock 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 win against Roger Federer in the final of the Halle tournament earlier this month.
The Adelaide-born star had been tumbling down the rankings this year, but he halted his decline in spectacular fashion in Germany as he battled back from a set down to hand Federer only his second defeat on grass in 78 matches.
It was Hewitt's first ATP Tour title for over a year but while the trophy was welcome, it was the morale boost of defeating the six-time Wimbledon champion for the first time since 2003 that has proved more important.
He believes his opening two matches at Wimbledon prove he is in the right shape for a long run this year.
"The first match had a lot of physical, long points out there. It's always hard the first five setter on grass but I bounced back well. Obviously, it didn't take a whole heap out of me," he said.
"Moving forward if you can keep doing that, putting yourself in a position where you feel good in the second week, it makes life a lot easier."
Hewitt certainly looked in peak physical condition as he tormented Korolev before the Kazakhstani's retirement.
"I got off to a good start," Hewitt added. "I was on his serve from the start and was always able to put pressure on him."
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