Preview of the most talked about first round match at Melbourne Park

Lots at stake for many players of ATP as the season’s first Grand Slam gets underway tomorrow. For the defending champion Novak Djokovic, a victory here would earn him a hat-trick at Melbourne Park, a rare feat which even Grand Slam chart-toppers like Federer and Sampras have not achieved. For Federer though, if he manages to win this title for the fifth time in his career, it would leave a significant gap between him and the next leader on the board in terms of Grand Slam title-count. Similarly, Andy Murray can prove to the whole world that he is here to win many more slams and is certainly not a “one Slam wonder” by winning this one. The same should hold true for Juan Martin Del Potro too.

However, for a certain Australian called Lleyton Hewitt, who captured his last Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2002, there is not much at stake. No one expects him to pull off an upset here, being ranked No.81 in the world. Though most of his contemporaries like Roddick and Ljubicic have already waved goodbye to the game last year, it looks like he has chosen to have one last shot this year, before deciding upon the future course of action. And why wouldn’t he? He is a two time Grand Slam champion and so would like to sneak in whenever he finds opportunities being presented to him.

The former world No.1 is due to face the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic in the first round of the Australian Open. This is probably one of the toughest matches one could hope for at the start of the tournament. Not that the Serb is very tough but considering his ranking and recent form, it should worry the Aussie a bit. The veteran Australian himself is in very good form which helped him in winning the Kooyong Classic yesterday where he demolished the Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. There is nothing to choose between the two as we stand now, because both have a title under their belt this year. So, right now, it looks as if both have their tasks cut out.

Hewitt, who will have unanimous support from the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena on account of being the local boy, would be supremely confident going into his first round match. He would like to see how far in the tournament he can go to reassess his future. He has already issued a warning to his Serbian adversary, stating he would knock him off and take his spot in the draw. It looks like the mind games have already begun. Although he said that, he should be knowing pretty well that it is not going to be a cake walk for him.

The pressure would certainly be on the Australian as it is his home soil. As a two time Grand Slam champion, irrespective of the rankings, it needs to be said he has a slight edge over the Serb. No one is going to call it an upset if he manages to beat the winner of the ATP Chennai open this year. For Tipsarevic though, he has nothing to lose. A defeat at the hands of a player like Hewitt would only help him to learn more and gain experience. Even he must be aware that it would require more than a miracle for him to win a Grand Slam title and so he would not mind a first round loss if it has to happen tomorrow.

Hewitt, like I said before, would start as a favourite in tomorrow’s first round encounter against the Serb. Out of the four matches played between the two, Hewitt has won three of them. If the Australian brings his “A” game tomorrow, he would really test his opponent who is ranked No.9 in the world. Landing the first serves in would be crucial for Tipsarevic because the Australian returns the ball so well. Even an exceptional server cannot imagine hitting un-returnable serves at him on a consistent basis and so it goes without saying that the Serb would hardly stand a chance.

Even when we talk of fetching abilities, the old veteran would score over his younger adversary. The Serb is also equally good at it but if the exchanges from the baseline are more, the man from the land of Kangaroos would prevail. Tipsarevic, on the other hand, should try playing slice backhand or drop shots in an attempt to bring his tireless opponent to the nets. That should be his best chance of breaking the defense of the Aussie. But even that does not guarantee points for him because Hewitt, even at this age, can move quickly to the net for countering the drop shots.

The Serb has to just focus on the game and hope that the day turns out to be bad for the former World No.1. If it does turn out so, he has to capitalize right from the word go and get an early advantage by winning the first set which should do his confidence a world of good. Plus, he has to ensure that he does not mess up with his own return game. He has to believe that he is ranked 72 places above his opponent and so he has to defeat him at any cost, atleast to justify the rankings. Cutting down errors should be the order of the day for him if he foresees any chance of going past the first round.

Now it is the time for me to announce my prediction. Lleyton Hewitt, unless he messes up with things, would be able to win his first round match quite comfortably. I predict a victory for him in straight sets with at least one of the sets going to a tie breaker. Even if he plays very badly, he should be able to come from the brink and beat the Serb in five sets.