[John Masters] Masterclass Match of the Day: Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

[britbox]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Didn't see that one coming. Good win for Lleyton.

 

[masterclass]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

I thought it would be close, but I picked the wrong man to take it. But as I said, Hewitt could definitely take it if Del Potro was a bit below his usual level, and I thought Del Potro was well below his best at times, just inconsistent. Though Hewitt undoubtedly contributed to that with his tactics. They didn't play well at the same time too much. An up and down match, but it looked like Del Potro just ran out of gas in the end.

Congratulations to Lleyton Hewitt and his fans. Commiserations to Juan Martin Del Potro and his fans.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[tennisville]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

That was a fabulous write up . Also great match from Hewitt

 

[Ricardo]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Hewitt up 5-1 in the final set. With all due respect to Lleyton who is playing with a lot of grit, heart and spirit, this is just poor and flat out disappointing from Del Potro. He's in the peak of his career, just coming off a phenomenal performance in Wimbledon and now he's about to get blown away in the final set of the 2nd round of his favorit Grand Slam. I don't know whether he suffers any physical problems right now or is he just mentally not strong enough whenever he enters a slam as one of the top dogs with people expecting a deep run? Anyway, it's a big loss for the tournament. The upper half is now basically done.

with all due respect? funny i think that's exactly what you don't show whenever you say this. For once someone should admit the level of Hewitt's tennis shown. Just because he can't hit big doesn't mean he can not play the same level as the top dogs. Honestly, Hewitt played like a 22 yo tonight but the problem will of course be recovery for the next match.

 

[Correspondent Kiu]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Hewitt up 5-1 in the final set. With all due respect to Lleyton who is playing with a lot of grit, heart and spirit, this is just poor and flat out disappointing from Del Potro. He's in the peak of his career, just coming off a phenomenal performance in Wimbledon and now he's about to get blown away in the final set of the 2nd round of his favorit Grand Slam. I don't know whether he suffers any physical problems right now or is he just mentally not strong enough whenever he enters a slam as one of the top dogs with people expecting a deep run? Anyway, it's a big loss for the tournament. The upper half is now basically done.

with all due respect? funny i think that's exactly what you don't show whenever you say this. For once someone should admit the level of Hewitt's tennis shown. Just because he can't hit big doesn't mean he can not play the same level as the top dogs. Honestly, Hewitt played like a 22 yo tonight but the problem will of course be recovery for the next match.

Leyton is a TOP DOG!
Old but he still can do it, at least for a match or two...

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

del potro isn't hitting hard..his is below his level..

he is not playing. well. on any. level.

of course the agenda driven bs would naturally flow. they never play well unless they run over the little guy. The little guy is simply supposed to get squashed how dare he even tries to beat the big boys? how dare he even puts in any resistance?

del potro was mainly rubbish today..as much as I do not like to say it..he nearly goofed up in the first round no escape this time..:huh:

not with all those hit way over the baseline fh and then too short groundstrokes..giving Hewitt angles to change pace and direction with.

 

[masterclass]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

That was a fabulous write up . Also great match from Hewitt

Thanks tennisville. I wish it had been a little higher quality match, but it was definitely close and entertaining from a non-partisan viewpoint for 4 sets. That tiebreaker and subsequent dip and early break in the 5th did Del Potro in.

Respectfully,
masterclass

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

what a nightmare u s open..del potro, jj, dimitrov..laura robson, heather Watson already out..and donna vekic got hammered.. bruan baker got wasted..

tennis aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarfggh

at least the rain had vanished for a bit (famous last words).

 

[JesuslookslikeBorg]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

del potro is turning into a balloonhead

..sort it out mr tower face. :nono

 

[Didi]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

with all due respect? funny i think that's exactly what you don't show whenever you say this. For once someone should admit the level of Hewitt's tennis shown. Just because he can't hit big doesn't mean he can not play the same level as the top dogs.

First of all stop acting as if you are the moralizer of these boards, Riccy. You have been doing this for years across all boards and let me tell you it is annoying as hell. Thank you. As for your posting. Why does it always have to be mutually exclusive? Yes, Hewitt played great which I happily admit as I like the guy but don't tell me Del Potro wasn't flat out disappointing. You make it sound as if one player playing great and his opponent being totally off his game is something that simply cannot occur at the same time in a tennis match. That has nothing to do with showing respect. It just happens sometimes.

For the record, I rate Lleyton a lot as a player and I'm fully aware of how dangerous he can be to big hitters which I posted in this thread some time ago and I would favor a peak version of Hewitt over any version of Delpo any day of the week. But this result tonight had much more to do with Del Potro being a shadow of himself than anything else. I'm not even talking about the 70+ unforced errors he produced, he was lethargic for 80 percent of the match and went down without any fight. I don't know if his back still bothers him but I'm sure as hell it ain't Hewitt.

 

[Moxie]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Good heavens. I didn't watch any tennis tonight, but really?! Every time I think that JMDP is ready to step back up to the level that he's destined for, he blows it. Hewitt is surely a big bump in the road, but the JMDP who is supposed to eventually get to #1 is not the guy who's supposed to lose to him. Anyone see the match?

 

[rafanoy1992]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Good heavens. I didn't watch any tennis tonight, but really?! Every time I think that JMDP is ready to step back up to the level that he's destined for, he blows it. Hewitt is surely a big bump in the road, but the JMDP who is supposed to eventually get to #1 is not the guy who's supposed to lose to him. Anyone see the match?

Moxie, I saw the match. I was just baffled on Del Potro's energy and body language. It seems to me he didn't look like he wanted to play a Tennis match. He was SO passive throughout the match. If Hewitt didn't choke in the second set, this match would have been over in three sets. In addition, he hit like 80% of slice backhands. Towards the end of the match, he didn't even hit back to back backhand shots. It was basically a slice and dicey game from Del Potro. At the press conference, Del Potro said his wrist wasn't right and he tried to "fix" it before the match but he couldn't. Something tells me his wrist will never recover to 100%. In addition, I think we might never see the 2009 Del Potro again with the way he is playing right now.

Overall, Hewitt played an inspired Tennis match and Del Potro played flat.

After this match, I lost some hope for Del Potro. I was excited for him after that courageous effort at Wimbledon and winning at Washington. But, after the Cincinnati and tonight's loss, I am questioning his fitness and mental fortitude. Is he too laid back to be a consistent Top 4 player? We will see in the future...but tonight he took a HUGE step back.

 

[El Dude]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Wow, just checked the scores. I stand corrected.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Thanks Master Class
I watched the match here are a few observations I made during the match
1.Del Potro needed to mix up his serve for.Hewitt is a good returner and he was reading Del Potro's
serve well.
2. Del Potro could not handle Hewitt's bhand slice
3. Hewitt kept changing the direction of the ball.Del Potro could not handle it at all.
4. Del Potro fhand went AWOL

By the way Del Potro was my Dark Horse in this tournament.....I was stunned by his overall lack
of fight in this match.I know he can be a slow starter in matches....still I give Hewitt all the credit
in the world in this match....not bad at age 32...I wish he could give some of the Fire in his belly
to some of the younger Aussie players....eg Tomic.
Again thanks for you post I enjoyed it.

 

[Haelfix]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Loved this match. Was a bit of a throwback for Lleyton, who looked to be moving pretty well for an old guy.

I do disagree with some things said in this thread though. He is most certainly not from a 'weak' era, I happen to think that there isn't much of a difference at all between today's play and what Hewitt was experiencing in his.. It's just different. Certainly not in so far as big hitting is concerned. Actually, i'd argue that players nowdays take a little more *off* their shots, not unlike what Hewitt always did, and rely more on topspin and grinding and less on big hitting than in the older eras. The big hitters of the late 90s and early 2ks would outright go for winners almost every time, and the great counterpunchers like Hewitt fed off that. When players stopped using that tactic so much, Hewitt's results suffered a bit. But put him up against a big hitter like Del Potro (who has a bit of a throwback game), and you can see why he did so well in his old era... That's the type of player that he would eat for lunch.

In fact I get the feeling the USO is playing pretty fast again, unlike some of years past, and that definitely helps the older generation of players, who were much more used to faster surfaces.

 

[nehmeth]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

I turned the match off after Lleyton choked the 2nd set away and went to bed. Woke up to a friend telling me that the Aussie went Jack-n-the-Beanstalk on the furry Tower of Tendil. Nice. Reading further, it seems DP's wrist was giving him some discomfort (again). Hence all the slices from his backhand side. Let's hope it's nothing serious.

 

[isabelle]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Delpony was wrist injured, he said Argentinian press that he needed some rest
Poor Juan, each time he plays well he picks up another injury
Wish him a fast recovery

 

[the AntiPusher]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

Good Blog MC... as for the match, JMDP was flat and the wrist injury neutralized his backhand which whatshisFace was able to capitalized on. I noticed how Hewitt was hobbling over to his box afterwards and to the on court interview afterwards. I would be surprised or disappointed if he gets his clocked cleaned the next round, but good win for him

 

[brokenshoelace]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

In fact I get the feeling the USO is playing pretty fast again

Yes.

 

[tented]

RE: [Blog] Masterclass Match of the Day - Juan Martin Del Potro vs. Lleyton Hewitt

FYI: I merged all posts related to this match into this thread.