French Open 2007

[DYSON#2]

Hewitt through to the 3rd round after coming back from 2 sets down to win in five.

Against a former champ as well.

i turned it off in 3rd set thinking it was over

Hewitt took control right from the start of the 3rd set.

i still thought it was over, thought he was just having a purple patch. anyhow i hope he gets a tennis lesson next up

[Bomber Mad]

Im with you Dyson.

[paddyl90]

Stosur lost to Vaidisova 6-4 6-4 which was a great effort.

[paddyl90]

Hewitt through to play Nadal in the 4th round. Nadal hasn't lost a set so all you Hewitt haters your wishes may come true but for Australia lets hope he does well as much as you hate him personally he has been one of Australia's greatest tennis players ever.

[bomberdonnie]

Hewitt through to play Nadal in the 4th round. Nadal hasn't lost a set so all you Hewitt haters your wishes may come true but for Australia lets hope he does well as much as you hate him personally he has been one of Australia's greatest tennis players ever.

Maybe since you have been alive Paddy but he aint even in the top 20...

As I have stated on another thread I am a fan of the bloke but he is no where near our best ever player. He has however carried Aussie Tennis basically on his own since Rafter retired and done it pretty damn well...

[robrulz5]

Hewitt did well against Rafa a couple of weeks ago. I think he might sneak a set but Rafa will be too strong.

[lozza89]

Hewitt lost in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)

[robrulz5]

Nadal was never in doubt.

[j-mac31]

Hewitt through to play Nadal in the 4th round. Nadal hasn't lost a set so all you Hewitt haters your wishes may come true but for Australia lets hope he does well as much as you hate him personally he has been one of Australia's greatest tennis players ever.

"For Australia"? Let's not kid ourselves here, apart from when playing Davis/Fed. Cup, tennis players are playing for noone but themselves.

[swoodley]

Hewitt through to play Nadal in the 4th round. Nadal hasn't lost a set so all you Hewitt haters your wishes may come true but for Australia lets hope he does well as much as you hate him personally he has been one of Australia's greatest tennis players ever.

Maybe since you have been alive Paddy but he aint even in the top 20...

As I have stated on another thread I am a fan of the bloke but he is no where near our best ever player. He has however carried Aussie Tennis basically on his own since Rafter retired and done it pretty damn well...

BD, please name the top twenty who you think are ahead of him.

He has won two majors and more Davis cup matches than any other Australian player ever

In the last 46 years that I've been around, players ahead of him would be Newk, Rosewall & Laver that I can think of. I'm sure that there are a few more but I can't think of them now.

I'm not having a go, just interested to see who you think has been better than him.

PS: imo Pat Rafter is not one of them.

[bomberdonnie]

Hewitt through to play Nadal in the 4th round. Nadal hasn't lost a set so all you Hewitt haters your wishes may come true but for Australia lets hope he does well as much as you hate him personally he has been one of Australia's greatest tennis players ever.

Maybe since you have been alive Paddy but he aint even in the top 20...

As I have stated on another thread I am a fan of the bloke but he is no where near our best ever player. He has however carried Aussie Tennis basically on his own since Rafter retired and done it pretty damn well...

BD, please name the top twenty who you think are ahead of him.

He has won two majors and more Davis cup matches than any other Australian player ever

In the last 46 years that I've been around, players ahead of him would be Newk, Rosewall & Laver that I can think of. I'm sure that there are a few more but I can't think of them now.

I'm not having a go, just interested to see who you think has been better than him.

PS: imo Pat Rafter is not one of them.

OK I was exagerating but I would name those 3 and:

Roy Emerson
Margaret Court
Evonne Cawley
Stolle (Not Sandon)
Neale Fraser
Lew Hoad
Tony Roche
Frank Sedgman
Pat Rafter (line ball but he was the unltimate sportsman IMO)

Also if you want to say tennis players there were a couple of Woodies that were fairly handy...

So maybe not in the top 10 or 15

Keep in mind that when Hewitt was number one there was sfa else around. Sampras was gawn and Federer was a boy yet to emerge to the great player he is now...

[swoodley]

Hewitt could only beat the players that he played against so to say that there were no other good players around at the time he was number one is a fallacy.

He held the number one ranking for well over a year, has won two slams and two end of year events (whatever they are now called) beating the best players of the time.

The more I think about it, the better I think he has been.

Roy Emerson was one of the better players I was trying to think of before but I definitely rate Hewitt higher than Roche and Stolle (I don't remember Hoad and Sedgeman enough to classify them [but maybe that says something about them]). Rafter may have been the ultimate sportsman (and I agree that he was) but Hewitt has proven to be a better player, especially if you look at on court peformance.

As for Court and Cawley being better players

Without wanting to offend any of our female posters, they wouldn't be in the same ball park as Hewitt if they played him and really shouldn't be used (imho) as comparisons.

[bomberdonnie]

You say this

Hewitt could only beat the players that he played against so to say that there were no other good players around at the time he was number one is a fallacy.

He held the number one ranking for well over a year, has won two slams and two end of year events (whatever they are now called) beating the best players of the time.

Then you say this

As for Court and Cawley being better players

Without wanting to offend any of our female posters, they wouldn't be in the same ball park as Hewitt if they played him and really shouldn't be used (imho) as comparisons.

Consistency please Mr Swoods!!

All of the players I have mentioned have won more Grand Slams than Hewitt and I cant see where his next one is likely to come from.

And the end of year tournament is called the Masters Cup btw

[robrulz5]

Rafter at his best would skin Hewitt.

[swoodley]

You say this

Hewitt could only beat the players that he played against so to say that there were no other good players around at the time he was number one is a fallacy.

He held the number one ranking for well over a year, has won two slams and two end of year events (whatever they are now called) beating the best players of the time.

Then you say this

As for Court and Cawley being better players

Without wanting to offend any of our female posters, they wouldn't be in the same ball park as Hewitt if they played him and really shouldn't be used (imho) as comparisons.

Consistency please Mr Swoods!!

All of the players I have mentioned have won more Grand Slams than Hewitt and I cant see where his next one is likely to come from.

And the end of year tournament is called the Masters Cup btw

I can't see the relevance of comparing Court and Cawley with Hewitt (except that it helps your argument)

As for the players you mentioned winning more slams than Hewitt, I did some checking and you are right in all cases except Tony Roche...he only won one - the French Open in 1966. Surely you're not counting his doubles wins to say he has won more slams than Hewitt

Anyway, I'm happy to say that I still think Hewitt is one of the better players Australia has produced in the last forty-six years which is where I originally came into this discussion.

And rob, I think that he would beat Rafter 7-8 times out of 10 because he always comes ready to play whereas Rafter was rather inconsistent. His overall record is also way better than Rafter's

[bomberdonnie]

Paddy did say "tennis players" and not male tennis players to have won single grand slams in the last 46 years to be fair.

Roche was a 50/50 and I only put him there as he had been runner up 5 or so times and lost to some pretty amazing players.

I still stand by my argument that he would be placed between 10th and 15th as our best tennis player ever.

Take away the girls and roche and he may scrape into the top 10 of male singles tennis players we have produced.

[robrulz5]

And rob, I think that he would beat Rafter 7-8 times out of 10 because he always comes ready to play whereas Rafter was rather inconsistent. His overall record is also way better than Rafter's

I guess the surface would play a part also.

On hard court Hewitt would win more as it would be difficult for Rafter to approach the net alot.

On grass Rafter would have the clear edge.

On clay the weather would play a big part, a cooler day would suit Hewitt but a warmer day would suit Rafter.

Rafter's overall game was better as he could rally from the back of the court even though not as good as Hewitt. Rafter could also volley alot better than Hewitt and even though Lleyton scrambles alot Rafter's volleying ability would make it very tough.

[swoodley]

Paddy did say "tennis players" and not male tennis players to have won single grand slams in the last 46 years to be fair.
Roche was a 50/50 and I only put him there as he had been runner up 5 or so times and lost to some pretty amazing players.

I still stand by my argument that he would be placed between 10th and 15th as our best tennis player ever.

Take away the girls and roche and he may scrape into the top 10 of male singles tennis players we have produced.

Fair call BD, although I think a lot of people underrate Hewitt because of his somewhat abrasive nature.

I remember watching him beat Agassi and then Stoltenburg when he won his first tournament as a 16yo and loved his aggressiveness. I'd had a gutful of insipid performances from Australian players over the years and told my wife at the time that he would be a top player. She didn't like him then and still doesn't like him now.

I just see him as someone I'd like beside me in "the trenches" and you know he will never give up.

[swoodley]

And rob, I think that he would beat Rafter 7-8 times out of 10 because he always comes ready to play whereas Rafter was rather inconsistent. His overall record is also way better than Rafter's

I guess the surface would play a part also.

On hard court Hewitt would win more as it would be difficult for Rafter to approach the net alot.

On grass Rafter would have the clear edge.

On clay the weather would play a big part, a cooler day would suit Hewitt but a warmer day would suit Rafter.

Rafter's overall game was better as he could rally from the back of the court even though not as good as Hewitt. Rafter could also volley alot better than Hewitt and even though Lleyton scrambles alot Rafter's volleying ability would make it very tough.

And yet Rafter won his two slams on hard courts whilst Hewitt has won at Wimbledon

[bomberdonnie]

Paddy did say "tennis players" and not male tennis players to have won single grand slams in the last 46 years to be fair.
Roche was a 50/50 and I only put him there as he had been runner up 5 or so times and lost to some pretty amazing players.

I still stand by my argument that he would be placed between 10th and 15th as our best tennis player ever.

Take away the girls and roche and he may scrape into the top 10 of male singles tennis players we have produced.

Fair call BD, although I think a lot of people underrate Hewitt because of his somewhat abrasive nature.

I remember watching him beat Agassi and then Stoltenburg when he won his first tournament as a 16yo and loved his aggressiveness. I'd had a gutful of insipid performances from Australian players over the years and told my wife at the time that he would be a top player. She didn't like him then and still doesn't like him now.

I just see him as someone I'd like beside me in "the trenches" and you know he will never give up.

I agree whole heartedly and in fact have a look what I wrote about the man here -- http://www.bombertalk4.com/viewtopic.ph ... 6&start=20