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Even when virtually the whole sporting world is expecting Roger Federer to roll Lleyton Hewitt for a 14th straight time in his pursuit of a sixth successive US Open crown, the humble Swiss remains ever respectful.
Federer and Hewitt square off once again on Sunday (AEST) in a third-round blockbuster at Flushing Meadows after the long-time sparring partners cruised into the last 32 without dropping a set.
Federer eased past German Simon Greul 6-3 7-5 7-5 after Hewitt destroyed Argentine rival Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3 6-3 6-4 to extend Australian interest until at least the weekend following the disappointing exits of Sam Stosur and Chris Guccione.
Few outside Team Hewitt’s bubble give the 2001 champion any hope in a clash featuring the only two fathers in the world’s top 40.
Federer, though, has not forgotten the days when former world No.1 Hewitt dominated their rivalry to the extent he once led their career series 7-2.
The 15-times grand slam winner has since forged to 15-7 head-to-head, but nevertheless remains wary.
“I’m intrigued about this match-up,” Federer said on Thursday.
“It’s an incredible run for me against him. I cannot believe I’ve beaten him that many times in a row.
“But we had some close ones during those 13. Everyone starts from zero, unfortunately for me now. I hope I can win again.
“But you’ve got to respect the player he is and the champion he is. A player of this calibre can have a good day. I mean, I have not every day a good day.
“So if things go bad, you lose very quickly, especially against a quality player like him.”
Hewitt’s enviable 41-8 win-loss record at Flushing Meadows is second only to Federer’s 47-4 among active players.
The ratio could have been even more impressive had fellow 28-year-old Federer not upstaged the South Australian in the 2004 final and 2005 semi-finals.
The top seed knows he must be on guard.
“Maybe Lleyton’s struggling to get to his level where he used to be through a tournament or through a year but, on any given day, a former world No.1, a guy who’s won majors, is very, very dangerous,” Federer said.
“That’s why I have to make sure I get into the match quickly, not give him the lead, because we know he’s not going to go down without a fight.
“He’s physically almost as tough as anyone out there.”
Hewitt acknowledges he is a massive underdog to break Federer’s five-year, 37-match streak at the Open – but, typically, isn’t ruling out springing an upset for the ages.
“Yeah, there’s not a lot of guys that really have been able to beat him – especially here,” Hewitt told AAP.
“Not too many guys have been able to have that success and found the perfect recipe (for) playing Roger.
“Rafa (Nadal) is probably the only guy that does have a great record against him.
“He started his run here in 2004 in the final, so it would be nice if I could finish it.”
If not, Hewitt will follow Australia’s great hope in the women’s singles, the 15th-seeded Stosur, on the Open scrapheap after her shocking 7-5 6-4 second-round loss to American wildcard Vania King, the world No.114.
Guccione’s dreadful run at the majors also continued with a 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 6-0 first-round loss to South American baseliner Pablo Cuevas.
The big-serving left-hander has now suffered nine first-round defeats at grand-slam level, and never progressed beyond round two.
A look at Wednesday’s play at the US Open:
WEATHER: Sunny and beautiful. High of 25 degrees celsius.
ATTENDANCE: Day: 36,144. Night: 24,206. Total: 60,350.
MEN’S SEEDED WINNERS: First Round: No.3 Rafael Nadal, No.6 Juan Martin del Potro, No.9 Gilles Simon, No.13 Gael Monfils, No.18 David Ferrer, No.24 Juan Carlos Ferrero, No.32 Nicolas Almagro. Second Round: No.1 Roger Federer, No.31 Lleyton Hewitt.
MEN’S SEEDED LOSERS: None.
WOMEN’S SEEDED WINNERS: Second Round: No.2 Serena Williams, No.3 Venus Williams, No.7 Vera Zvonareva, No.8 Victoria Azarenka, No.10 Flavia Pennetta, No.18 Li Na, No.22 Daniela Hantuchova, No.26 Francesca Schiavone, No.31 Elena Vesnina.
WOMEN’S SEEDED LOSERS: No.12 Agnieszka Radwanska, No.14 Marion Bartoli, No.15 Samantha Stosur, No.17 Amelie Mauresmo, No.20 Anabel Medina Garrigues.
TOP PLAYERS ON COURT THURSDAY: Men: No.4 Novak Djokovic v Carsten Ball, No.5 Andy Roddick v Marc Gicquel, No.10 Fernando Verdasco v Florent Serra. Women: No.1 Dinara Safina v Kristina Barrois, No.5 Jelena Jankovic v Yaroslava Shvedova, No.6 Svetlana Kuznetsova v Anastasija Sevastova.
STAT OF THE DAY: Fabrice Santoro, who has announced his retirement at the end of the year, lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in his Open-era record 69th grand slam event.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s OK. It’s the end. So, just, it’s the last one. Could have been better ending, but still OK. I don’t care about losses anymore.” – Marat Safin, who lost to Jurgen Melzer, in his final grand slam event. Safin has announced his retirement at the end of the year.
ON THIS DATE: Sept 3, 2000: Marat Safin endures rain delays of 85 and 45 minutes to defeat Sebastien Grosjean in the third round. During the first break, Safin borrows dry socks from Jeff Tarango and during the second break borrows a shirt, shorts and more socks from Nicolas Kiefer.
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