AO Day 4: Goodbye, Rusty

Hey Y'all. Galileo here.

All of last decade’s slam champions have retired save Nadal, Djokovic and Federer. It is unlikely Del Potro can come back again. Lleyton Hewitt was number one before the hashtag, before Facebook and while the internet was still young, still new. When Hewitt was world number one, cell phones were still not totally ubiquitous.

"I left nothing in the locker room" Hewitt's singles career comes to an end https://t.co/MsgcdMmv5I pic.twitter.com/gNE8tHk0nd

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) January 21, 2016

Now he is retiring and people are writing hashtags about him. Check this out and see if you can find Kyrgios’ tribute.

There’s just no way to fully do Rusty justice. In the era of Roddick, Sampras, Federer and other big hitters, he ground and fought. He never gave an inch on the court but he did give his heart. He left nothing in the locker room, as he so often says. At first he may have been rough and ready but he transformed. He turned into a gentleman, a peer of the game.

Respected, remembered and even beloved, Lleyton retires after seeing in a new generation of Aussie players. The day he retires is a day Australia has five men in the top hundred though he himself is not one of them. He will continue to give it everything in the Davis Cup. Do not be surprised if he plays a doubles in that competition in the next few years. If anyone can do it, it is him.

Of course, other things happened and the world keeps turning. But Hewitt has his place in BACKSPIN HQ’s hall of fame. He is also probably the greatest two slam winner ever. And he did it with seemingly no weapons. He really paved the way for these big returning, grinding, defensive walls like Djokovic and Murray.

But what else happened during the day? Well, let’s find out.

*Suicide Picks*
MS 1st Rd: Dimitrov d. Lorenzo {W}
MS 2nd Rd: Kyrgios [29] d. Cuevas {W}
MS 3rd Rd: Tomic [16] d. Millman
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WS 1st Rd: Gavrilova d. Hradecka {W}
WS 2nd Rd: Mladenovic [28] d. Gibbs {W}
WS 3rd Rd: Beck d. Siegemund


ROD LAVER: MURRAY D. GROTH
...Groth barely lasted an hour and a half. The Scot brushed him aside 6-0, 6-4, 6-1. This BACKSPINNER thought this might be more of a challenge. In hindsight that was misguided thinking. Murray pulled out a remarkable match, hitting 35 winners and just 11 errors to send the Aussie packing. How about seven breaks to one and winning 51 per cent of receiving points? That is an incredible statistic. Groth came to net 46 times and won just 15. There’s not much more to be said. Murray has his best weapons, the return and passing shot, in good working order. Joao Sousa has been able to find protection behind his seeding of 32. That is thanks to the withdrawal of Gasquet. But now there is no protection, no hiding, nowhere to run. He must face off against Murray in the third round. And he won’t win but he is good enough to avoid being bageled. So at least there’s that.
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ROD LAVER: FERRER D. HEWITT
...It took the Spaniard over two hours to finally send Hewitt packing from the tour 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. For over two hours the pair did battle. Though Lleyton’s sword may be rusty and his armour wearied, he is still proud and still mighty. Grizzled and wounded, he has but one more fight left in him. He knew it would be his end, this last bloody tussle. In front of a crowd baying for blood, firmly behind their champion, he succumbed to Ferrer. And what a way to go down - to another warrior who believes in the grind, on his home arena. This was not about stats, about winners. This was all about the perfect farewell to the people’s champion. Without the arrogance of Djokovic, the better-than-you aura Federer has or even the temper Murray has, Hewitt is one of the people. He rose up, he became their fighter, always defending Australia, defending what they stood for. There are few more patriotic than Hewitt was and he shall be missed.
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MCA: MONFILS D. MAHUT
...Bizarre scheduling call from the powers that be. Sure, put it on a show court, but this isn’t grass. This is hard-court which makes Mahut less effective. Monfils now leads their head-to-head by 4-0 but every single first set has been 7-5 or 7-6. Mahut has only ever won a single set against his compatriot. It’s just a match-up issue for the doubles specialist. Monfils is too solid, too well rounded across the board. He can pass and lob from anywhere. He also does return well when on form like he appears to be now. This match, which Monfils won 7-5, 6-4, 6-1, is worrying news for the rest of the field. Of course, how he performed today may have no bearing on how he plays tomorrow. Up next is qualifier Robert and then an unseeded player. He hit 50 winners to ten errors today and broke four times. He faced a single break point, which was unconverted. He is a lock to make the quarters.
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MCA: TOMIC D. BOLELLI
...Tomic cruised at first, winning the first two sets 6-4, 6-2. But in the next two sets there was a major fightback from his opponent. He split the last two, 6-7[5], 7-5. 50 winners and 24 errors is a fantastic set of numbers, complimented by five breaks of the Italian's service. Our buzz phrase of the tournament on the men’s side is ‘avoiding the upset.’ On the women’s side it is doing everything possible to walk into the upset. Tomic was solid throughout and even served well. He is really fulfilling his role as the 16th seed. He does get unfortunate with who he meets in the fourth round of slams, but the fact he is getting there is very encouraging. Of course, Bolelli hitting 52 errors helped. As it stands Bolelli is edging towards 60 and Tomic is almost certain to remain in the top 20. Should Tomic beat Millman, he won’t even drop to 20 like he is now. He may even rise a spot.
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HISENSE: ISNER D. GRANOLLERS
...No, I have no idea why this was on Hisense. Do you? Isner prevailed 6-3, 7-6[6], 7-6[2]. Isner broke once and served 20 aces. His serve remained intact throughout but the 39 errors are worrying. Isner’s average 2nd serve speed equaled that of Granoller’s first. So there’s that. Next is Isner versus Lopez. On the over/under for two breakers, I take over. On the over/under for 50 combined aces, I also take over. Watch this if you like big servers. If you like breaks go watch the women. I’m not being sexist, just facetious. You guys didn’t have to sit through half an hour of Errani versus Jankovic live in Sydney. Yeassh.
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OUTER COURT SELECTION: WAWRINKA D. STEPANEK
...So they stick Wawrinka and Stepsy on Hisense but that Monfils/Mahut match belongs on Margaret Court? The scheduling does really baffle one every now and then. Wawrinka is flying under the radar despite being the 4th best player and having won this thing before. Only three men are left in who have won this whole thing at all. It took him two hours to get past Stepsy 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Five breaks and 43 winners is evidence of the form he is currently in. He is not being noticed, but he is in a nice vein of form. Right now he is getting more and more dangerous with each and every match. His serving percentages are a little low, but off the ground he may be the only player Djokovic has reason to fear. Rosol is up next and that should be another straight sets victory for the fourth seed.
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Garcia/Mladenovic triumphed 6-3, 6-2 over Irigoyen/Torro-Flor. With 34 aces and 19 errors they were the right amount of flashy. Five breaks and winning 70 of 120 points was enough for them to coast through to the second round. Sanchez/Vogt are up next and that will be another foregone conclusion. But 13th seeds Goerges/Pliskova do lurk.

Thanks and visit WTA BACKSPIN.

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