Analysis for Baghdatis-Hewitt (Australian Open)

Head-to-head record 1:0

Hewitt is one of the most talented tennis players ever born. He prefers quick hard courts but he has sidelined tennis when he got married. Anyway, Hewitt is known for his competitiveness and wins most of his matches with relentless aggression, fitness, consistent shots, and highly skilled footwork. He is a defensive baseline counter-puncher. He typically likes to stay back towards the baseline during a rally and will usually approach the net only to catch a short reply or drop shot from his opponent. His tactics typically involve putting difficult service returns in play, consistently chasing down attempted winning shots from his opponent, and waiting for his opponent to make an error. Hewitt also has excellent placement on his serve, enabling him to hit aces without a tremendous amount of speed. Despite not being a power player, he will usually go for an ace or a service winner for his first serve and settle for a slower, more consistent serve for his second serve. Although he is known primarily as a baseline defender, Hewitt is actually a skilled volleyer and is known for having one of the best overhead smashes in the game. His signature shot however is the offensive topspin lob, a shot that he executes efficiently off both wings when his opponent approaches the net. Well, his best years are gone and he is now more concentrated on his personal life but he still has a great motivation in front of his home crowd. His opponent will be self-confident Cypriot. Baghdatis's playing style is relaxed and smooth. His main strength is a powerful forehand and a natural talent for placement. He can make accurate and powerful down-the-line forehands and cross-court forehands on the run and often patiently constructs points to get in a position from where he can make outright winners with those shots. He also has one of the best backhands in the game, especially his two-handed backhand down the line. Baghdatis is noted for often playing high-risk tennis, attempting difficult shots which, depending on their execution, can pay off big or backfire. He had a much worse draw than Hewitt here in Melbourne defeating 2 former champions (T.Johansson and M.Safin) while Hewitt outplayed Darcis and Istomin. But he hasn’t played his best tennis, especially in the second one. We still condiser him to be an inconsistent player and Hewitt´s odds around 2.4 can be tried for a small stake.