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2/18/09 4:08 AM | Ricky Dimon
James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt headline Wednesday action at the RMK Championships during the night session. They will be going head-to-head for the ninth time in their careers.
James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt will renew a rivalry on Wednesday night when the two veterans square off in a marquee first-round matchup at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships. Although it is not much of rivalry--aside from one controversial encounter--because Hewitt dominates the head-to-head series 7-1. Hewitt's first win over Blake came at the 2001 U.S. Open, where questionable calls and off-color remarks by Hewitt tainted the match itself. They have not met since 2006, a year in which Blake recorded his first win over Hewitt before the Aussie prevailed again at Queen's Club.
Despite the head-to-head history, Blake is heavily favored to pull off his second victory over Hewitt; unfortunately that has a lot more to do with Hewitt than it does with Blake. The Aussie struggled with injuries throughout 2008, but he was still able to post some impressive results. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and Wimbledon and the third round of the French Open. It's been more of a struggle for Hewitt in 2009, just as it was later on last season. He is down to 103rd in the world mainly due to a lack of activity--and due to his 2008 Australian Open points coming off the board two weeks ago. The former world No. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion reached the quarterfinals in Sydeny, but lost to Fernando Gonzalez in the first round of the Aussie Open and fell to Mardy Fish in his San Jose opener last week.
Blake really hasn't been much better, but he still registers at 13th in the world rankings despite a lackluster end to 2008. He got blown out by Fish at the U.S. Open, lost to Gilles Simon in Madrid, Feliciano Lopez in Basel, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Paris semis after getting a walkover against Roger Federer. The third-seeded American is off to a better start this season, having reached the fourth round of the Australian Open before getting hit off the court once again by Tsonga. Blake then reached the semifinals last week in San Jose, but injured his ankle in the quarterfinals and did well just to finish his semifinal match against Fish. On Tuesday in Memphis however, Blake's ankle must have been OK as he and fellow American Bobby Reynolds pulled off a doubles upset over Eric Butorac and Bruno Soares.
Hewitt has to be confident thanks to his record against Blake and his opponent's ankle issue could end up being a problem. That, however, is just about all the underdog has going for him. Blake had a decided edge in current form--even though his is far from amazing--and the Memphis fans will undoubtedly be backing him. Hewitt should keep this competitive throughout, but Blake in two tight sets is the pick.
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James Blake
Lleyton Hewitt
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships
attackingtennisrulez, Mar 22, 2010 9:21 AM
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