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Streetfighter Hewitt looks to have lost his killer punch

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Tennis TV commentator Barry Millns tells us why it may be the end of the line for Lleyton Hewitt after crashing out to Djokovic at the Australian Open

If ever a match summed up Lleyton Hewitt's current position in the men's game it was his fourth round loss at the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic (currently trading at [6.8] for the title). For all the commendable huff and puff that Hewitt typically put into his latest effort he never looked like blowing down Djokovic's defences.

Of course, it hardly helped that Hewitt had had to play that epic overnight five-setter on Saturday against Marcos Baghdatis, but I think that even if he had been less tired he would have come off second best against the Serb. These days I don't believe the Australian has enough firepower or aggression to beat the very best - last year the only Top 10 player he defeated was Nikolay Davydenko.

A feisty 15 year-old when he first qualified for the Australian Open back in 1997, Hewitt's first round defeat was followed by another the following year and although he made the final in 2005, he has failed to reach at least the quarterfinals on any of his other annual visits. So his win/loss record in Melbourne now stands at 24/12 or around 67% whereas at the French Open it is 73%, at Wimbledon 78% and at the US Open 83%.

Prior to a fourth round loss to eventual champion Roger Federer in 2004, none of those who beat him in his 'home' slam was ranked inside the top 10 at the time. Even less fancied players such as Daniel Vacek, Alberto Martin and Younes El Aynaoui all managed to thwart his bid to become the first Australian men's champion in Melbourne since Mark Edmondson in 1976.

That in itself would suggest that Hewitt, having previously triumphed at the US Open and Wimbledon, as well as becoming world No.1, has found it hard to live up to so much national expectation. At times that has been exacerbated by his run-ins with officialdom, the media, a number of coaches plus other players and with Australia's hopes increasingly resting, by and large, on his shoulders alone the pressure has increased with each passing year.

Hewitt, like so many fine players, has also had the misfortune to play in the era of Federer [1.66] and Nadal [6.2], who have won the last 11 grand slams between them. But what has also made life harder for him has been his drop in ranking which means that he has had to face bigger threats and tougher matches earlier in grand slams than he used to when he was seeded higher.

Since July 2006 Hewitt has not been ranked inside the world's Top 10. Last August was the last time he featured in the Top 16 and last year was the first since 1999 that he failed to reach at least one grand slam quarterfinal.

Obviously having married and become a father Hewitt's priorities have changed somewhat from the 'in-your' face upstart who made such an impression a decade ago. There is no doubt that his attitude on court, while always competitive, is far mellower than it used to be and that makes him less intimidating.

These days it just does not cut it at the highest level to be only a baseline terrier; you have to be prepared to step in, to be more aggressive tactically to give yourself an extra edge against so many other players who can all do the same thing. Just look at Nadal and David Ferrer, who while both being brilliant back-court players, are more proactive and often prosper at the net.

There is no doubt that Hewitt can volley well and against Djokovic, just like against Baghdatis, he won 70% of his net approaches. But because he lacks the firepower of some it is harder for him to do and one area new coach Tony Roche should certainly address is Hewitt's serve.

Back in 2001, when Hewitt beat Pete Sampras for the US Open title his first serve percentage was 63 and he only got broken once - against Djokovic it was down at 53% and he was broken seven times. In fact, if you look at Hewitt's last 12 grand slam defeats dating back to the 2005 Australian Open final against Marat Safin, he has averaged less than 53% first serves 'in' and he has been broken on average 5.5 times per match.

The sudden exit of Hewitt's previous coach Roger Rasheed on the eve of last year's Australian Open certainly rocked him and since July 2007 he has been banking on the input of Federer's former coach Tony Roche to help him climb back up towards the top of the game. But there is clearly some way to go and approaching his 27th birthday I think that is now beyond him.