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27th May, 2000 Hewitt’s hot to make a French connection THE French Open title has proved the toughest of all for Australian players recently but Lleyton Hewitt is a tremendous chance to break the drought this year. With three titles this season - the most wins by any player in the world - Lleyton has the confidence and form to go a long way in Paris from tomorrow and there won't be a player in the draw who will look forward to playing him. Whether Lleyton has the physical strength to survive seven best-of-five-set matches remains to be seen but his attitude and will to win is fantastic. He's lost only six matches this year and he reached the Italian Open semi-finals on clay, so he's clearly Australia's No 1 chance going in. I can see him reaching the quarters or the semis. From there, it's up in the air. I don't know if he's experienced enough yet to win a major. It's no secret I've been struggling on clay and, to be honest, I'm looking forward to getting off it and back on to the grass. The weather in Europe hasn't helped. For me to do well, I need it to be hot. That's how it was in 1997, when I got to the French semi-finals and to the Italian Open final last year. Unfortunately for me, the forecasts aren't great but I'm used to it. I've got Gianluea Pozzi first round to play Cedric Pioline and I give myself a chance if the shoulder holds up and I start playing well. I had a few more problems with the shoulder this week, so it's a matter of monitoring it. Mark Philippoussis is proving hard to read but Pete Sampras won't enjoy having to play him in the first round. Last December after the Davis Cup final a lot of people were talking of Flip as a potential French Open champion. And it was hard not to because of his form in Nice and the fact he'd been in a US Open final. The bottom line is Philippoussis could do anything. It will all depend on how much work he's done over the past month and how he's thinking. Richard Fromberg and Andrew Ilie love the clay and, with a bit of luck, can create a lot of damage. As usual, the main chances stand out. Andre Agassi hasn't had the best of runs with injury since winning the Australian Open but, as defending champion, he'll be desperate to hang on to the title, even though 1 think he'll find it hard to win again. Pete Sampras has also had injury problems. This is the one major Pete is yet to win and time is starting to run out. Drawing Philippoussis is a nightmare for him. Magnus Norman has been the hottest player on tour this year. Perfectly suited to clay, Norman won in Rome and is playing with confidence. Yevgeny Kafelnikove won here four years ago and is always dangerous on this surface. Like Philippoussis, a lot will depend on his mindset. Gustavo Kuerten is one of the great claycourters and he won Hamburg a week ago. He’ll be hard to stop on this surface. Nicolas Kiefer and Thomas Enqvist have similar games, although Enqvist’s game is more powerful. Both could win without surprising in a very open field. Alex Corretja has rebounded strongly from a shocking start to he year and is a finalist at Roland Garros so can’t be ruled out. Nicolas Lapentti loves the slower surfaces and there is not a more improved player in the world this year than Marat Safin, who’s in unbelievable form. Tim Henman, like me, will need quick conditions to have a chance. Domink Hrbaty reached the semis last year and is again showing good form, while Younes El Aynaoui is one of those players who always threatens once he reaches form. Juan Carlos Ferrero has never played at the French before but he is a real talent and somebody to watch. If you throw in guys like Marcelo Rios and Andrei Medvedev, who almost won it last year, it shows how tough the tournament is. It’s always a bit of a lottery with the weather and I’m just hoping to play well and string a few wins together. Outside of that, I’d love to see Lleyton come out with a win. |