Hewitt defeats Baghdatis in epic five-setter
Stephanie Myles , Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, January 19, 2008
Melbourne - When they talk about the match in years to come - and they
will,
because an epic five-setter that starts at 11:49 p.m. and ends at 4:34
a.m.,
the latest match point in the game's history, is pretty memorable - the
3,000 or so hardy souls who stayed to urge on their man Lleyton Hewitt to
victory early Sunday morning likely will have swelled to 10 times that
number.
One of the most eventful days in the first week of a Grand Slam in recent
memory came to a close just hours before sunrise, when Hewitt defeated
2006
Australian Open runner-up Marcos Baghdatis 4-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-7, 6-3 to move
onto a date with No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic Monday night.
Djokovic, whose victory over American Sam Querrey was short and sweet
earlier in the day, probably nodded off before the second set was over.
"Tonight was strange," said Hewitt, who headed into the interview room at
5:10 a.m., had a massage lined up after that and didn't expect to get to
sleep before the sun really did come up. "We both said in the locker room
that that we might be here until four or five in the morning," he said.
They were joking - then.
The rain, and Roger Federer's unexpected five-setter earlier in the day,
scuttled the schedule and clearly left organizers unsure about what to do.
They had an Aussie playing a night match, good for both the crowd and the
television ratings. So first they were going to move or postpone the Venus
Williams-Sania Mirza match that was to precede Hewitt and Baghdatis onto
Centre Court.
Then they decided to play it, and perhaps postpone the men's match should
the women go to a third set, which they didn't.
Hewitt and Baghdatis were first told they would take the court at 9 p.m.
They warmed up quickly, but they didn't make it until nearly three hours
later.
"We were both probably in two minds obviously, with the crowd and everyone
that wanted to play. But, yeah, it's a tough situation for everyone,"
Hewitt
said.
The match was as much of a roller coaster as the lead-in. There were more
errors than winners, more extremes than Montreal weather in January. But
that just added to the drama.
Hewitt looked outclassed in the first set, served for the second at 5-3
only
to be broken at love, and ended up pulling that one out. Baghdatis served
for the third set at 5-4, and he was broken at love. Hewitt took that one
as
well, and it was already 2:40 a.m.
In the middle of all that came the moment Baghdatis collapsed in agony on
the court, having rolled his ankle. But he had it taped, came back out,
and
looked none the worse for wear. "They gave me four painkillers, so I guess
that (did) the job," Baghdatis said. "At the end I was a bit tired, but
not
because of the ankle, because of all the stress I had, and that's all."
In the fourth set, when Hewitt led 4-1 and pumped his fist after hitting a
forehand winner, he looked over to his wife Bec and winked, as if to say,
"I've got this one in the bag."
Perhaps he jinxed himself. Hewitt served for the set at 5-1 and 5-3 and
was
broken both times.Baghdatis won the tiebreaker.
In the fifth, Baghdatis was on fumes, and Hewitt, still strong, still
chasing everything down, was rewarded for bold shotmaking as he moved into
the fourth round. "Lleyton didn't miss a ball. He was more physical than
me
today," Baghdatis said.
The Cypriot, who basically has been hotel-bound the last three days
because
of fallout from a home video made a year ago, in which he calls for the
Turks to leave his homeland, was exhausted after the match. But he was
gracious in three languages: English, French and Greek.
Inside Rod Laver Arena, there were brightly-coloured Aussie fans - who
soon
made their way down to the front row - and a group of Greek fans higher up
in the cheap seats. But only one inebriated fellow, who decided it was a
brilliant idea to yell out several times as Baghdatis went into his
service
motion at 4-5 in that fourth set, was ejected.
The were still selling beer until the wee hours, as well.
Baghdatis has been here before; he was the foil for another hometown
favorite at the 2006 U.S. Open when he battled Andre Agassi in a
late-night
thriller.
That one also ended badly.
It's getting a little old. "I'm tired of being in one of these matches and
losing, but I try to think positive about it," Baghdatis said. "I've had
so
many matches like that, and one day it will go my way, and I will live
some
incredible emotions."
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