Hewitt, Tomic Going in Different Directions

Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic may both represent Australia, but their careers are heading in different directions. One appears to be stuck and going nowhere, whilst the other is a promising youngster that seems to have a bright future.

In the first round of the Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt participated in one of the best matches of the first week against David Nalbandian. The problem for Hewitt is that he has been ranked in the 40s and 50s for some time now. As a result, he has to play tough opponents, such as Nalbandian, in the first three rounds, thus he loses early on and his ranking doesn't improve. In fact, in the last three years, he has only made it to the quarterfinals once at a major and, perhaps more alarmingly, once in a Masters 1000 event.

Thanks to early departures Hewitt has been unable to rise in the rankings and give himself, theoretically, and easier draw. It's like he's stuck in a vicious cycle.

Having an easier draw is all well and good, but why isn't a two-time major winner negotiating his way through the early rounds? Well, it's not for want of effort. A lack of determination can never be a charge lay at Hewitt's door and if that's all we can continue to say about him then that's nothing to be ashamed of.

Hewitt is undoubtedly a great counter-puncher, but that's where the problem lies. He's never really been much more than a counter-puncher. His game plan often relies on the opponent making mistakes. In today's game, you have to be able to attack and Hewitt finds it difficult to make the transition from defense to attack. This much was clear in his encounter with Nalbandian. The Argentine was more aggressive and consequently went onto win.

It seems as though Hewitt isn't made for the game as it is played today. The players are better and more aggressive. Hewitt isn't. He turns 30 in a few weeks and it may well be a time when he takes a long hard look at his future. With a wife and three children it is not beyond the realm of possibility that Hewitt will decide to throw in the towel soon. The other issue, besides family commitments, is that it must be frustrating to put in the hard work on the practice court, travel around the world and get absolutely nothing for it. When you're giving it your all and coming up way short time and time again, it can become a chore to actually make it to the practice court.

Tomic, on the other hand, is 12-and-a-half years Hewitt's junior and had his most successful major performance at the Australian Open. Having previously made it to the second round in his first two Australian Open appearances, Tomic went one better by reaching the third round. His prize for making that far was Rafael Nadal.

Nadal ousted the Australian in straight sets, but the story of the match came at the start of the second set. Having lost the first set, 6-2, Tomic continued his tactics of hitting the ball flat and hard, and he was wise to continue with that approach. Tomic raced to a 4-0 lead in the second set and not because of inefficiencies on the other side of the net. Nadal was being out-played as Tomic imposed himself on the Spaniard. Tomic was serving well and returning with a purpose. He was hitting the ball hard and flat, utilizing what can be one of the best backhands around when it is going well.

Alas, Nadal managed to claw his way back into the second set and the rest, as they say, is history, but it's possible that we may have had a glimpse at the future of tennis. Tomic is certainly a competent player with most of the skills required to make an impact in today's game. At 6'4" and his aforementioned strengths, he is similar to Robin Soderling, who is now a regular fixture late on in tournaments. It would be naive to think that Tomic will be winning the big tournaments any time soon. It seems fans and pundits expect too much of people far too soon, but Tomic can put together a decent year. Look out for him during the American hard-court season since he prefers hard courts, a fact that is demonstrated by the fact that all of his titles, be they at senior or junior level, were all won hard courts.

Given his attributes, I expect that Tomic, who is currently ranked world No. 199 (though that will change after the Australian Open), would be disappointed if he didn't break into the top 50 by the end of the year. That's by no means as high as he can go, but that should be, at the very least, his aim. So, when the season draws to a close, it is possible that Hewitt will be overtaken by his much younger compatriot, in what will be seen Down Under as a changing of the guard.