Flying Hewitt nearing perfection

By PATRICK MILES

THERE are many more kilometres for his youthful legs to carry him, more serves to be sweetly struck and more returns to be fired on target, but Lleyton Hewitt is on his way to a place where he can dictate the destiny of the Australian Open men's singles title. He is yet to encounter the likes of Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Andre Agassi or Pete Sampras in this tournament but, based on his performance in the Rod Laver Arena yesterday, it is a foolish man who takes him lightly. An hour and 20 minutes into Hewitt's second-round match, a great roar arose from the crowd as Alex Corretja blasted a running backhand down the line to hold serve. It was a fine shot but one that would not be expected to receive the biggest ovation of the week so far. The significance lay in the fact that it gave the Spaniard his first game of the match, and the only one he could manage against the Australian onslaught. Seven minutes later, Hewitt broke Corretja's serve for the ninth time to record one of the most one-sided men's singles results in the history of the tournament – 6-0 6-0 6-1 – against a player who was ranked No.2 in the world just over 12 months ago. Hewitt said that he had probably never played better. "I was seeing the ball like a football out there," he said. "I was returning very well and putting on the pressure. "I was happy to get away with an easy win in the end. I'm not the type of player to hold back on anything. I'm out there to win every game and give 100 per cent." The sympathy for Corretja was palpable, but there was also a sense of pleasure as they watched their man advance to the third round, where he will encounter Adrian Voinea of Romania. "I wouldn't like to be in that situation," Hewitt said. "It's probably a little embarrassing." This was Hewitt's best result at Melbourne Park, following first-round defeats in 1997 and '98 and a loss in the second round last year, and it matched his Wimbledon and US Open efforts last year. Hewitt, who took his winning streak to 12 matches by humiliating the Spaniard, won 16 games in succession until the moment in the third set when Corretja dredged up a winner from the depths of his tortured soul. He must have been relieved to some extent but he could not acknowledge the crowd eruption, such was his numbness over the beating he was being handed. It would be terrible to tempt fate, to place a curse on 18-year-old Hewitt, but his form suggests he will be a force to reckoned with in the first grand slam of the season. The route is open for him in the bottom half of the draw and he will surely survive into the second week, when he is projected to play the defending champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the semi-finals. In the Adidas International in Sydney last week, when Hewitt won his fourth ATP Tour title, he not only defeated Corretja but also Voinea, his next opponent. The seeds to survive so far in Hewitt's section of the draw are Swede Magnus Norman and Nicolas Kiefer of Germany, and he could have to contend with them before he reaches Kafelnikov. "In the past, I have been used to being the underdog but now, after Adelaide and Sydney, I really have to step up because I was the favourite going into most of those matches," Hewitt said. "So far I think I have handled it pretty well." As has so often been the case in the past three weeks – during which time he has lost only four sets – Hewitt made a jump start to break Corretja in the first game. The Spaniard was powerless throughout to make an impression on Hewitt's serve, while his own was disturbingly brittle. Corretja, the 1998 French Open runner-up, is no stranger to long baseline rallies but even those produced no reward. Hewitt was flying on both wings, his groundstrokes deep and dispatched with pinpoint accuracy. Even the occasional foray to the net – foreign territory for Corretja – was to no avail as the Australian maintained his intensity from the first point to the last. A potential obstacle for Kafelnikov in the bottom half of the draw was removed yesterday when the stylish Moroccan, Younes El Aynaoui, defeated 10th seed Tommy Haas 7-5 6-3 6-3. The German was distinctly off colour during his match, complaining afterwards of rib soreness, a problem that has bothered him in the past year. The seventh seed, Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, also reported sick after having to retire from his match in the fourth set against Arnaud Clement of France. Lapentti said he was on a course of antibiotics for a cold that had been bothering him for three weeks, and added that he was exhausted.