The first day of Wimbledon's second week is rated as the premium date in the tennis calendar – even Venus Williams ranks it above Super Saturday at the US Open. And Lleyton Hewitt's fourth-round match against Novac Djokovic today is potentially the showstopper they have been waiting for.
Hewitt is the world No26 and the 2002 Wimbledon champion. Djokovic won the 2008 Australian Open and is ranked No3. The former is the last man to beat Roger Federer on grass, a fortnight ago in Halle. That first win in 16 attempts will give him confidence, especially in a season in which he had a further operation on a hip and struggled with tendinitis in a knee.
Djokovic, though, has beaten Hewitt in three of their past four meetings and is six years younger than the 29-year-old Australian. After a difficult start this year, when Olivier Rochus took him into a fifth set, the Serb needed only three to beat Taylor Dent in the second round and Albert Montañés in the third.
Djokovic says he is finding momentum. "It's building up. I'm happy about that," he said. "It's important prior to the second week of the grand slam, which obviously gets more difficult. I'm going to have a better-ranked opponent, which is going to be very tough. So two days [off after beating Montañés on Friday] is going to help me to work on my game and get physically and mentally fit for the challenge."
Hewitt, unlike Djokovic, has been the world No1. He also has one more grand slam title to his name, having won the 2001 US Open. He was taken to four sets in the first round here before beating Evgeny Korolev and Gaël Monfils in three and he purred when asked which area of his game is firing: "A little bit of everything. I served well for two sets [against Korolev]. I took my chances."
He credits his coach, Nathan Healy. "What Heals and I planned, I executed to perfection," he said. "That was the pleasing part so far. It gets tougher now — [a] step up in class again against a top-four opponent. If I go out there, [with] the way that I've been playing and hitting the ball, I can give him a run for his money."
The winner will meet Andy Roddick – provided last year's finalist beats the unseeded Lu Yen-hsun, who he has beaten in their previous three meetings. Roddick came agonisingly close to winning the title he really wants when he lost 16–14 in the fifth set against Federer last year, the third Wimbledon final he has lost to the Swiss.
This year, against Philipp Kohlschreiber, seeded 29, the American's serve was menacing in a 7-5, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 third-round win. He said: "The numbers don't lie. I had 28 aces, no doubles, served over 70%. That's good, to not get broken against him. He jumps on returns, especially second-serve returns, and can land them in."
Robin Soderling has reached the fourth round for the first time, without dropping a set. The Swede is not a grass-court specialist but he is expected to win against David Ferrer, the No9 seed who favours clay.
"I'm serving well. I'm hitting the ball well. So far I'm feeling really good," said Soderling. Could he repeat previous victories over Rafael Nadal and Federer? "They're the two best players in the world. You have to play really well, have a really good day. If I have that, I think I have a good chance."
If Nadal beats the unseeded Paul-Henri Mathieu, as expected, Soderling may get that chance in Wednesday's quarter-finals.
