Wimbledon - Hewitt backs Murray to beat Roddick

Eurosport - Thu, 02 Jul 12:07:00 2009

Former champion Lleyton Hewitt has backed Britain's Andy Murray to overcome Andy Roddick in Friday's Wimbledon semi-finals.

2009 ATP Queen's Lleyton Hewitt - 0

Hewitt believes Murray is more than a match for the big-serving American and has improved since he defeated Roddick in straight sets in the third round here in 2006.

The feisty Australian also hinted that Roddick's game has hardly altered in the intervening three years.

"I think it's going to be a tough one for Roddick to win. When I've seen Andy Murray at his best, I think he matches up extremely well against Roddick," said Hewitt who lost a five-set thriller to Roddick in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

"A couple years ago I saw them play here because they were in my section, and Murray took care of him convincingly. Murray's a lot better player now than he was then. Roddick's going to have to play a helluva match to beat him."

Roddick is a two-time runner-up at Wimbledon and is desperate to add to his one Grand Slam title so far, the 2003 US Open.

However, Hewitt believes that the American's game hasn't adapted enough for the challenges ahead.

"His strengths are still the same. His slight weaknesses are still pretty much the same, as well," added the 2002 Wimbledon champion.

"He's maybe trying to stand up in the court a little bit more than he was a couple of years ago, especially returning serve and not trying to get dictated too much behind the baseline.

"He mixes it up well. When you've got a serve like he has he can take a few chances, a few risks on his opponent's service game."

Roddick refused to get drawn into a slanging match with Hewitt over his semi-final chances.

"That's fine," he replied when told of the Australian's opinion. "I'm not here to make predictions."

AFP

Comment 62 - 81 of 81

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  1. May the better player win

    From tgjam02, on Fri 3 Jul 7:13PM
  2. ............Never mind the big critics - let's just­ hope that Hewitt really will be proved­ RIGHT!.....
    Okay, so you can hardly compare Murray to­ Sampras, but come on, give Andy Murray a chance­ (he's only 22 or 23), we've been waiting too­ long for BRITON to make it to a Wimbledon final!.......

    From Tony H, on Fri 3 Jul 4:10PM
  3. Shut up Hewitt, you're such a hater,..!!
    you lost­ your match against roddick, so shut up­ please,..!!
    jealous b.i.t.c.h..!!

    From Mootje M, on Fri 3 Jul 3:54PM
  4. Roddick is fitter and does have his powerful serve,­ but, as Hewitt alluded to, Roddicks game may not have­ adapted enough for him to progress beyond what he's­ already achieved. Can he alter his tactics if his plan­ A isn't working to match a tennis player like­ Murray or Federer who mix things up? I fear Roddicks­ game maybe to readable because he doesn't change­ things up enough. If he can manage to put Murray under­ some pressure by holdng his big serve and taking things­ to tie break and/or mixing his game at significcant­ points he might surprise us, otherwise Murray will­ surely win in straight sets or for the loss of the odd­ set. However, Roddick has more experience than Murray­ who maybe under more pressure at being in such advanced­ stages of a Wimbledon semi semi-finals, Roddick having­ been here before on a number of occassions.

    From marklbelluk, on Fri 3 Jul 3:42PM
  5. Can't you guys understand what Lleyton was saying?­ He only just lost to Roddick and knows full well that­ Our Andy plays better than him.

    From Katy, on Fri 3 Jul 12:38PM
  6. good luck to andy but roddick will not be a push over

    From faulknerlee, on Fri 3 Jul 12:31PM
  7. By the way, I expect Murray to beat Roddick. If he­ doesn't it's a very bad result for him. Three­ years ago he easily beat him at Wimbledon and Roddick­ is on the decline, Murray has improved drastically­ since then. He also has a very good record against­ Roddick. Only the final will tell us how good Murray is­ on grass, if he gets there. He should but will he?

    From LD, on Fri 3 Jul 10:33AM
  8. We (the Brits) always get ahead of ourselves!! So maybe­ we need to stop talking about the Final and focus on­ the Semi-Final first!!!
    Murray needs to get through­ the semi first against someone who can obviously play­ well, and is on good form. There are no easy matches at­ this stage of Wimbledon.
    Murray may be favourite to­ win, but I am sure that Roddick will be playing out of­ his skin today.
    So let's just concentrate on today­ and hope that Murray plays like we know he can do.
    If­ he steps up and performs with the form he has been­ showing this year, then I am not sure that Roddick has­ the game to beat him. So fingers crossed he plays­ well!
    Best of luck - it would be great to actually have­ someone in the final for the first time in around 70­ years.

    From petehosk, on Fri 3 Jul 10:31AM
  9. By the way.

    From LD, on Fri 3 Jul 10:30AM
  10. Then put a lot of money on him

    From LD, on Fri 3 Jul 10:28AM
  11. 72 I wait for ur response later, and you have clearly­ been blinkered by Tommy Haas and 7/1 bet seems a good­ wager to me.

    From m.harlin214, on Fri 3 Jul 10:25AM
  12. No 71. You have clearly shown you know nothing about­ tennis. As for Murrays form this Wimbledon, so far he­ hasn't met anyone who had a chance of winning the­ title due to his very easy half of the draw(obviously­ not his fault)In the last match he played a wild card­ ranked 74 in the world. If you're so sure Haas will­ beat Federer why not have a bet on him. The bookies are­ offering 7/1 on Haas winning the match. They say a fool­ and his money are soon parted. And in case you­ didn't know. Roland Garos was clay this is grass,­ it makes a difference as you will see today

    From LD, on Fri 3 Jul 10:19AM
  13. Well Murray has had his 1 bad game in the 4th round, i­ hope the occasion doesn't get to him, in the 1/4­ final he was formidable and i think even the Fed would­ not be a match for him. So my prediction is Murray in 4­ sets. To set up a tie against wait for it... Tommy­ Haas, Haas should av beaten the Fed in the French open­ being 2 sets up and then losing. Then i think Murray­ will win in a 5 set epic.
    From MCH

    From m.harlin214, on Fri 3 Jul 10:05AM
  14. Go Roddick, hope you wipe Murray off the court

    From Faye, on Fri 3 Jul 8:54AM
  15. I think many people are forgetting some wins of murray­ over Federer happened when Fed suffered from the­ disease of Pheiffer?. As for wins over Fed, it has­ always been that way, fed losing to some competitors­ during smaller matches, but when it came down to a­ grand slam, fed was the best. I don't think­ he's really stressed about regaining his crown. The­ only thing that really mattered to him the last 2­ years, was winning Roland garos, the only grand slam­ title that he was missing.I think his victory @Roland­ garros ensures he won't choke again, no matter­ which opponent he has to go against. Federer will­ "suprise" murray fans, as they all think­ murray will win. Unfortunately federer will win in 4­ sets.

    From arnout.degen, on Fri 3 Jul 7:52AM
  16. Good place for all big and tall singles, please check:­ ---Tallconnect Co M ---- ,More fun waiting for you...

    From morelamm22, on Fri 3 Jul 7:20AM
  17. Cheers to Ruler's comments in #64 - if Roddick­ serves well, it'll be an interesting match. Murray­ absorbs pace exceptionally well, and the "new­ murray" is considerably more mature than previous­ iterations. I apologise if you're 18 and hormonal,­ but let's look for a good match between well-tuned­ competitors, and may the best man win. Keep in mind­ that this is sport, it isn't life... I'm am­ American, but I personally look for Murray to prevail­ in this one if he shows up. Roddick's game a bit­ too one-dimensional if it isn't executed­ flawlessly.

    From spezial_a, on Fri 3 Jul 4:50AM
  18. Roddick is most irritation to watch=== fiddle ~~­ fumble ~~ fidget ~~ hat + costume

    Hopefully amazing­ Andy Murray will ensure Roddick has NO role in mens­ singles final

    CONGRATULATIONS TO MURRAY TO MAKE­ SPECTATOR MILLIONS SO VERY HAPPY

    From ace.firstserve, on Fri 3 Jul 3:50AM
  19. Let's see now, Hewitt says Roddick has no chance­ against Murray and basically a dull game.
    But, Roddick­ beat Hewitt so maybe he should retire if Roddick is­ that bad.
    If Andy can serve well against Murray it will­ be a great match.

    From Ruler, on Fri 3 Jul 3:16AM
  20. post 64, go back to sleep.think you were dreaming when­ you typed your message.lol.

    From Alex W, on Fri 3 Jul 12:48AM
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