The Genius of Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt clawed his way through the first four rounds of Wimbledon

As Lleyton Hewitt pummeled the 5 seed Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round of Wimbledon, Hewitt reminded those watching how someone so small compared to the rest of the tour could do so well. Sure, Lleyton doesn't have the biggest serve, nor the biggest groundstrokes, nor the best hands on tour. He's not as fast as he was 7 years ago when he won Wimbledon. Yet why did Hewitt win this and three other matches so far at Wimbledon this year?

With experience comes wisdom. Hewitt knows the strengths and weaknesses of his own game and when he plays his smartest tennis, he is very difficult to beat. Throughout the year Hewitt has struggled with results and not beating top players. In those matches you could count the times Hewitt went up the line on the backhand. This fortnight, however, Hewitt has been using the entire court.

His game is so complete and his performance revolves around his serve. The Hewitt serve may be one of the most underrated serves on tour right now. He exemplifies the perfect way a player who lacks power can make his serve a strength. Can you name one serve that Hewitt can't hit? I know I can't. The variety and placement on a weaker serve are key aspects necessary for success. Additionally, Hewitt uses his serve to set up points and not to just end them.

Also, Hewitt, short and aging, lacks power on his groundstrokes yet once again shows us how to counteract the lack of power. Once again, the greatest cure for a lack of power is variety. Hewitt can slice, but the main variety he uses is mixing deep and angled shots. The accuracy of Hewitt's shots make it uncomfortable for his opponents as he neutralizes powerful opposition with deep flat shots and short angles with a healthy combo of going behind them to finish points.

Later in life, Hewitt's strengths have changed from his speed and grit to his all court game. Don't get me wrong, Hewitt still is quick and has plenty of grit, but he can't rely on those attributes to do well as he approaches 29 years of age next February. Instead, Hewitt has been using his very solid volleys, approach shots, and down the line groundstrokes to end more points on his own terms, rather than being dependent on his opponents errors. These changes were extremely evident in his win against Del Potro, who hits one of the most powerful balls on the tour. Hewitt didn't run down every shot, instead he stepped his own game up and used his all court strategy to make the Argentine uncomfortable on court.

As Hewitt goes onto court tomorrow to battle Andy Roddick for a spot in the semifinals of Wimbledon, don't count the little man out because of his weaker shots. Throughout the past week Hewitt has given us plenty of evidence that he can knock off a variety of players despite Hewitt's seemingly weakened game.