Bernard Tomic will become the 40th Australian to face Lleyton Hewitt in his career when the duo face each other in the second round of the US Open. Join The Roar for all the action from 7am (AEST).
Since Tomic turned professional in 2008, Australia has waited for him to face Hewitt – both because it pitted the great hope for Australian tennis against the custodian of the sport in this country, and because of the spat between the two at Wimbledon in 2009.
Tomic refused to train with Hewitt, after he invited him, which angered the two-time Grand Slam champion. This led to a bitter feud, which has been resolved.
Plenty of meetings, and Davis Cup battles together, means both players now have great respect for each other.
At the recent Wimbledon event, Tomic said Hewitt was a champion after he bowed out to Jarkko Nieminen. Now he has the chance to end the former world number one’s career.
Looking at their rankings, this appears a one-sided contest. Tomic is 24 in the world and won a title in Bogota this year. Hewitt is 355 in the world and has won just four matches this year.
We all know though that this match will be far closer than the rankings suggest.
The key to the match will be who can handle the heat. The conditions have been absolutely brutal, and Tomic in particular struggled in the opening round. If it is hot again, Hewitt may be able to capitalise on Tomic’s struggles with the conditions.
This reminds me of the match between Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis at the French Open. Tomic couldn’t finish his opponent, and then lost in five. If he allows Hewitt to play, and control the baseline, then he will lose to the veteran.
Tomic needs to serve well and hit strongly from the baseline to win.
However most Aussies will be hoping Hewitt’s run continues for at least one more match.
Prediction
Tomic 3-2.
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