BATTLE OF GRINDERS IN OPEN SEMI

Hewitt vs. Agassi: a clash for the ages

By Matthew Cronin
tennisreporters.net

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FROM THE U.S. OPEN – This will probably be the last time that the 32-year-old Andre Agassi will seriously contend for the U.S. Open title and he couldn't have asked for a more difficult semifinal opponent that No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who has taken his best blows this year and counterpunched him sharply into the canvas.

Hewitt is a faster version of Andre with a better serve and volley, but still doesn't think as adeptly on court nor hit as hard. "He's difficult for everybody," Agassi said. "He's been No. 1 in the world now for almost a full year. He makes you play a great match to beat him. I've just got to come out there and do it."

Agassi is is attempting to become the oldest player to win the Open since Aussie Ken Rosewall won it at age 35 in 1970. But as most men in the locker room know, he's a conditioning freak, often running the sandy hills behind his Las Vegas home with his trainer, Gil Reyes.

"He's in great shape, I don't care what age he is," Hewitt said. "He looks as fit as ever to me. He looks stronger than he's been probably in the past as well. I can't recall too many matches that Andre's lost because of his fitness. So I throw his age right out the window."

That Agassi is stronger that Hewitt hides the fact in their last three matches Hewitt has banged more winners than Andre. The Aussie took the American down 6-3, 6-4 at the '01 Tennis Masters Cup; 4-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4) in February's San Jose final (arguably the best two-out-of-three set match played this year) and 7-5, 6-3 a month ago in the Cincinnati quarters. In San Jose, Hewitt crushed 63 winners to 32 from Agassi, which is an amazing feat for a 150-pounder over one of the game's true strongmen.

HEWITT: AGGRESSIVE, COMPETITIVE, CONSISTENT
"Lleyton has a good ability to sense and step in big situations," said Agassi at the time. "He's a great competitor, his game is consistent and when he's down he's plays big situations aggressively and takes control of the point. That's the sign of somebody who's ready for big moments. He has great skill and is earning his place with the best of us."

Agassi won two of their meetings, in L.A. in '99 and at '01 Indian Wells, but remarkably, Hewitt won their first meeting in '98 in his hometown in Adelaide, when Hewitt was a rail thin 16-year-old with the complexion of a kid who spends too much money at the corner candy store. But Hewitt already had the makings of a never-say-die, dogged retriever and ran down everything that the legend threw at him. The result was a 7-6, 7-6 shocker for Hewitt.

Susan Mullane Camerawork USA, Inc.

"I didn't believe it, that that was my opponent,'' Agassi said. "He just seemed like he had a couple of strings hanging in his shoes. I was like 0-for-17 on breakpoints. We didn't break each other the whole match.'' Incredibly, Hewitt went on to win the tournament, becoming the youngest tour winner since Michael Chang in '88.

Since that time, Hewitt has grinded toward No. 1 with destructive force of an Alaskan icebreaker, grabbing the '01 U.S. Open title and '02 Wimbledon, while Agassi primed in mid and late career and captured four Slam crowns, becoming the only male ever to win majors on four different surfaces.

"We've had some good matches," Hewitt said. "We've never played at a Slam. That part will be interesting. I have to go out there with the attitude that I have to play my game and hopefully it matches up well on the day."

LONG RALLIES … WITH GUTS AND ACCURACY
Without question, their semifinal will feature constant end to end rallies and long, nail biting exchanges. Agassi has a bigger forehand than Hewitt, but the 21-year-old matches up well on the backhand side and loves engaging in crosscourt backhand rallies with Agassi. Many of the points will be determined who has the guts to gun a stroke down the line first, and in their last three matches, it's been Hewitt who's been more accurate when he's gone that way.

"Its a fine line you walk against someone like Lleyton because you want to take some chances but you can't afford to take unnecessary risks," Agassi said. "That's the balance you always try to walk. You want to control point, but you don't want to press. It's about playing the right shots at the right time."

Plus, Hewitt will run down a nearly impossible gets that Agassi won't. Hewitt has a deceptively good inside-out forehand that he'll employ at key moments, but Agassi has used this tournament as a testing ground for his improving volleys. Moreover, he'll have what should be a sellout crowd loudly backing him.

"He obviously hits the ball extremely clean and extremely well from the back of the court. It's tough to get too many cheap points," Hewitt said. "His serve is very underrated. He hits it in a position where he's going to get that next short ball and pound his groundies, which he does so well."

In San Jose, Agassi continued the same ugly pattern that he established in Adelaide: He was only two for 21 on break point opportunities. However, Agassi committed only three unforced errors out of the 19 break points he didn't convert – the rest were winners by Hewitt, a statistic that should never be forgotten.

These two are the most accomplished return of servers on the planet, with Agassi a stronger returner when he's facing baseliners and Hewitt having the edge against serve-and-volleyers. You can bet that both men will have numerous opportunities to break the other on Super Saturday and the last man standing will be the one who plays gutsy, nerve-free tennis during the closing moments.

"It's going to be a tough match," Agassi said. "I've got to play as well as I can if I'm going to win. But then again, he's going to have to play as well as he can, too."