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In a draw suited to be played on Australian home soil, this evening Lleyton Hewitt and Marinko Matosevic, Australia’s No.1 and No.2, will meet in Round 2 of the Delray Beach Open.
Remarkably they have never faced one another, despite touring the ATP circuit for almost five years together. Matosevic who somehow managed to alienate most of the Australian public during this year’s Australian Open is a far cry from Hewitt charisma wise.
See when it comes to composure on the court, Hewitt has it in abundance. Matosevic? Not so much.
Whether he likes it or not, Matosevic is now better known for his inability to control his emotions on court than his playing style, and unfortunately for the No.55 ranked player in the world, the public aren’t quick to forget.
Then there was that incident in Melbourne. Somehow, somewhere in the stratosphere that is google and Wikipedia, Matosevic coined the now comical nickname ‘Mad dog’ against his will.
Why so comical? Because he lost it on court to the amusement of spectators, ranted in the press conference afterwards how it’s not his nickname; “someone put it on Wikipedia.”
If there was ever a time to have simply have said nothing perhaps that was it.
You can’t be faulted for thinking Hewitt will roll Matosevic either.
These two know each other very well, the pair have both played Davis Cup together under the mentoring of team captain Pat Rafter. It was also only a month ago Matosevic wasn’t selected in this year’s team, a decision which was sure to have stung the Victorian native.
With Aussie golfer Greg Norman looking on, Hewitt yesterday made life unpleasant for the locals, beating 23-year-old American Bradley Klahn in straight sets 6-3, 6-1.
“It took me a few games to obviously work him out, I’d never seen him play before” Hewitt said of Klahn, who is already the No.3 American despite his limited matches on the ATP World Tour.
You’d think Hewitt will be all too familiar with the mindset of Matosevic. While there is little between the pair, Matosevic’s victory yesterday was only his first in 2014 since making the quarters at the Sydney International.
There was talk when Mark Woodforde came on board to coach there would be a rise in the right-handed players rankings but Matosevic has still failed his campaign to surpass his career high ranking of 38.
A victory tonight could change so much, if not for his rankings but also the public perception on him. Toppling Hewitt could earn some respect and set him up with a new mindset.
History can play a part if he wants it bad enough. He made it to the final here in Delray in 2012, and if Matosevic can spare a few hours to put his negativity to the side, he has every right to claim his first ATP title.
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