|
by Prip Both Lleyton and Jonas had had good build-ups to the Australian Open. Jonas had reached the semifinals of the adidas Open in Sydney, where he lost to top seed and countryman Magnus Norman, who eventually fell to Lleyton in the final. The first set was closely contested, with Jonas using his experience and savvy to keep up with the energy of Lleyton’s game. With Jonas serving ahead, the Aussie found himself down 4-5 15-40, and serving to stay in the first set. Lleyton saved the first point, playing fearlessly, then served 3 aces in a row to even it at 5-all. Always ready for an adrenaline rush, Lleyton used the 3 aces to pump himself up, and took the next 4 games in a row to go ahead. Jonas was pushing him, though, and made the Aussie come up with difficult passing shots. Struggling to regain some hold on the match, the Swede made a conscious effort to cut down on his errors, and finally held serve to break the youngster’s streak. The yellow-and-blue clad Swedish Supermen were right there behind their beloved Jonas, and spurred him on. In a sudden turnaround, Jonas started playing flawless tennis, and Lleyton couldn’t find the quick answer. Jonas got the break back, and ran away with the second set 6-4, looking invincible. With the conditions absolutely freezing in the stadium, it was no wonder that Lleyton had to have the trainer come out to massage his hamstring. In such a highly intense and physically demanding match, the cold weather was absolutely devastating to both players’ muscles. While Lleyton received medical treatment, Jonas draped on the towels, trying to keep his muscles loose and responsive. The break didn’t do anything to stop Bjorkman’s momentum, though. Playing his stylish game and sneaking in to net at every opportunity, Jonas left Lleyton looking like a 5-year-old kid on court. In similar fashion to the second, Jonas took the third set 6-2. In the fourth set, things started to go a little better for Lleyton. Jonas couldn’t keep up the quality of play he had in the previous two sets, and started to make more errors. Jonas had also been doing all the work, making the plays, and would have to have been mentally exhausted by then. The number of errors grew and grew for the Swede, and Lleyton took the cue to pick up his game, playing with dogged determination and explosive energy. With a barrage of fist-pumping and "Come on!"s, Lleyton turned things totally to his favour, to the delight of the packed stadium. Jonas himself had to call for treatment, but for him, it was a problem with his toe. The third player in the tournament so far to have problems with the toe, Bjorkman’s break also came at a rather timely point in the match. However, despite his youth, Hewitt has a lot of personal experience as well as that of coach Darren Cahill, who was watching intently as he always does in the stands, and it didn’t bother him at all. Lleyton took the fourth set 6-3 to even the match up at 2 sets apiece. The fifth set started dead even, with Jonas fighting hard, but the favour was still with Lleyton. Like a human dynamo, the Aussie had too much momentum to be stopped, and rolled past the Swede, going up 5-2. He needed 3 match points to wrap the match up, but wrap the match up he did. Pounding his chest with his fist, the crowd needed no confirmation on the amount of heart this youngster puts into his game. Jonas came off the court extremely disappointed with the result, but happy with the way he played. Gaining more and more confidence with each match he plays, the Swede had a serious warning for the likes of Guga and Marat -- "you guys had better cherish each and every win you have against me, because I’m just gonna get better and better, and eventually, the tables will be turned." Next up for Lleyton will be another tough match. German Tommy Haas had already won his match 6-3 6-1 6-1 against Nicolas Massu, and will try his best to take the seventh seed out. |