It’s a wonderful concept: paying tribute to the game as an athlete. And there are a number of ways an athlete can do it.
For instance how Roger Federer goes about his game when witnessed in its entirety is a sheer pleasure to watch both for a commoner and a connoisseur. He is one of the rare few who pays tribute to the game simply by playing it.
In today’s world, when certain athletes consider themselves to be pseudo-movie stars, it is intriguing to witness the way an athlete pays tribute to the game. What we witnessed the past Saturday at Roland Garros (May 31), is a true testament to that.
Unfortunately, Lleyton Hewitt had to miss the entire clay court season until Roland Garros, due to a hip injury. It was, indeed, a last minute decision to fly half way across the globe to Paris from his hometown in Adelaide (South Australia).
With no time on the court or match practice, he flew in cold, underdone, and unprepared to Paris. Clay, of all the surfaces, takes its toll on the body and is probably the worst surface to play on with a hip injury. Hewitt quite comfortably dealt with Mahut and Fish in the first two rounds, for neither of them were a match to his consistency.
David Ferrer however, was an entirely different kind of challenge.
Ranked fifth in the world, Ferrer is your consummate clay courter, with heavy and penetrating ground strokes, and a solid backhand equally complemented by one of the best forehands in the sport. He would definitely make the top three clay court specialists list in the world, a list topped by Rafael Nadal.
No one gave Hewitt much of a chance.
In fact, 40 odd minutes into the match, with Hewitt down 3-6 0-3, I had a feeling that this could be a very unpleasant Saturday morning. But, as it has always been with Hewitt, it is not really about the court, the physical condition, the weather, the crowd, or the surface. It has never been!
It is very simple—it is about just stepping onto the court and playing tennis. He symbolizes the true Australian spirit, the "if you show up to play, you are fit" attitude. Slowly but steadily, the feisty, dogmatic Aussie clawed his way back into the match to level it at one set apiece.
Hewitt neutralized the surface, the court time, and the physical advantage that Ferrer had going into the match by just competing for every point ruthlessly. The roadrunner forehands perfectly complemented with delicate lobs, culminated in his winning the third set to go up two sets to one.
Ferrer pushed the match to a decider, when he won the fourth set. At 3-4 with Ferrer serving, Hewitt had a break point, a point I think was the last straw that decided the match.
What transpired was a 20-shot rally in which Hewitt managed to turn a defensive position into an offensive one, but netted the short mid-court inside-out forehand that let Ferrer off the hook.
Ferrer would go on to break Hewitt in the next game to take the match, much to his relief. One could clearly see that Hewitt’s movement was not at all close to where it was in the first three sets.
At the façade, a superior clay courter won a tennis match that he was expected to. Life is hardly that simple, though. Looking behind the veil, one can see a message that is quite inspirational.
Most of the advantages an opponent has going into a game can be neutralized by competitiveness and superior mental fortitude. Just plain and simple "I am here to play, you are going to have to beat me" competitiveness.
That is precisely how Lleyton paid his tribute to the game. At the least, it was revered, admirable, and innately inspirational. Good on you, Lleyton.
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4 months ago
hEWITT Did great even playing with the injury, i'll be enjoying the last few years of his career.
go LLeyton.
www.myspace.com/mecanovic
2 months ago
I'm a big Hewitt fan, and didn't get a chance to watch that match, thanks fo the account. (I would have been devastated too!)
from 2 months ago
hi cari
am a huge huge fan of hewitt too - thanks for the comment
and - wayne rooney is the next best thing to sliced bread - Amen !
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