Events / Ben Caudell / 17 August 2010 /

Ben Caudell tells us why Lleyton Hewitt has his work cut out today on the hard courts of Cincinatti...

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) v Yen-Hun Lu (TPE)

Former World no.1 and 2002 Wimbledon Champion Lleyton Hewitt is fighting to get back to full fitness before the U.S Open kicks off in just two weeks time. The Australian stalwart, who is known for his amazing ability to battle his way through the impossible, recently withdrew from the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a calf strain that was brought about in his first round match at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, against Alejandro Falla.

Hewitt, whilst disappointed, was trying to remain upbeat saying " It's just one of those things that can happen, and my focus now is to have daily treatment to enable me to play the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and then the US Open. It is not the best preparation for a Grand Slam event, but what else can I do?"

There have been recent unconfirmed reports that Hewitt's injury was a calf tear and not a calf strain, which can take up to five weeks to recover fully. At best this will limit Hewitt's physical aptitude on court. The 2005 Australian Open finalist has a habit of playing with injury and is also generally reluctant to retire from his matches. This can often become detrimental to the Australian veteran who plays Yen-Hsun Lu tonight for only the second time in his career, a 7-5 2-6 6-2 loss at the Delray Beach Open back in February 2009 the result the first time round.

27 year-old Lu is currently at his highest ever ranking of 40 in the world, having come through four rounds (including two qualifying) at the Rogers Masters Cup in Toronto last week. Previous to this Lu recorded his best-ever Grand Slam appearance by reaching the quarter finals of Wimbledon, defeating Andy Roddick 9-7 in the fifth set along the way!

The Chinese Taipei national, who nicknamed himself Randy since his English teacher had a difficult time with his given first name, says his favourite surface is the hard courts of America. Back in 2008 Lu defeated in-form Andy Murray in Beijing, he has won four of his last five matches in North America on hard courts, and at Tennis Master Series level is currently 7-3 in all matches.

Due to the fact that Hewitt is carrying an injury and that Lu has a 1-0 head-to-head series lead over the Australian, I definitely see value in backing the underdog in this match.

Selection:

Back Yen Hsun Lu @ [2.4] to win Match
Back Lu to win Set 01 @ [2.2]

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