ForeverDelayed wrote:Hewitt is still one of the top 8 players in the world, and he plays well in the big events. As long as he gets a decent draw in the Grand Slams, and turns up for the Masters Series, he should be good enough to get at least close to the top 8
I've always been a Hewitt fan but I don't think he'll get back in the top 8 unless he changes his game. Too many talented youngsters moving up who are harder hitters, Hewitt's game has always been based on his consistency, speed and aggression but there are now players who can match him on that plus have bigger weapons. There's the old guard of Federer, Roddick, Dayvdenko, Blake, Ljubicic, Haas, Ancic plus young guys like Nadal, Baghdatis, Gonzo, Murray, Djokovic, Berdych, Youzhny, Gasquet who are filling the top 15. Hewitt will always be a threat but I can't see him beating many of those guys consistently throughout the year with his game how it is at the moment especially as he's not going to be highly seeded so will be on a collision course with some of the big guns early on.
I think he needs to revert to how he played at the AO 2005. In the off season, he'd put in a punishing fitness regime and had really filled out, his biceps were like Nadal's. That really paid off as his groundstrokes and serve had so much extra bite in that tournament, enabling him to beat the likes of Nadal, Nalbandian and Roddick. It also paid off throughout the year, he had a great season making Wimbledon and USO semis.
In 2006, he seemed to have lost that muscle...I think he needs to put it back on again and if he does then he can be top 10 again for sure, maybe top 5 who knows.
I don't think that Baghdatis will have such a good season. I think that he needs to go for his shots a bit more and be more aggressive to remain consistently in the top 10, he tends to be a bit too conservative from the baseline. Haas has done well so far but he always does at this time of the year, doesn't tend to do so well in the clay, grass and indoor seasons so those will be big for him this year.
Hewitt seems to have an excellent record against the young guns, and he seriously troubled Gonzo in the Aussie Open match even when Gonzo was playing at his very best, so that shows he can compete with the power players.
Personally, I don't see him making it, but if enough things go his way and he plays to his potential, he should make it
I like Hewitt a lot and it was a match of his that got me into tennis.
I think that top 8 will be tough but top 10 is definitely possible. In his points total, six of his nine Masters are zero pointers! He did well on clay last time, so he could easily be inside the top 12 by Roland Garros.
Arka wrote: I like Hewitt a lot and it was a match of his that got me into tennis.
I think that top 8 will be tough but top 10 is definitely possible. In his points total, six of his nine Masters are zero pointers! He did well on clay last time, so he could easily be inside the top 12 by Roland Garros.
-- Edited by Arka at 11:50, 2007-03-03
Was that the Safin match in the AO 2005 final ?
Didn't realise that he had so many zero pointers in the masters series, how did that happen ! Hmmm, not sure about top 12 by Roland Garros, he's currently ranked 21. In all the big tournaments he's got from now till the French Open he's going to be up against big guns very early on. I think he'll make at least 1 quarter-final in Indian Wells and Miami but the clay could be a different matter especially given that he hasn't played many matches.
I just though of giving points to find out who actually wins.
1 point each :: For getting any of the players ranked 1-2 correct. 2 points each :: For getting any of the players ranked 3-5 correct. 3 points each :: For getting any of the players ranked 6-7 correct. 4 points :: For getting the player ranked 8 correct.
For example, if the Race looks like this at the end of the year:
1) Daniel Cox 2) Andy Murray 3) Tim Henman 4) Alex Bogdanovic 5) Lewis Barnes 6) Daniel Evans 7) Morgan Phillips 8) Jamie Baker
Redcabbage will get 1 point each for getting Cox and Murray correct, 2 points each for getting Henman and Boggo correct, and 4 points for getting Jamie Baker correct.
So he will get 2+4+4 = 10 out of a possible 18 points.