London, June 13 (IANS) Two-time Major winner Lleyton Hewitt named Scottish Andy Murray as the favourite to clinch the men’s singles title at Wimbledon for the second time.
“Andy will be tough to beat. The surface suits him and Roger (Federer) the most. Novak (Djokovic) is obviously great on everything. But in terms of versatility, changing pace, looking to come forward, Andy and Roger are the two that stand out on the surface,” Hewitt was quoted as saying by dailymail.co.uk on Friday.
“(Murray’s) second serve is probably the one area that good returners like Novak can get hold of but he defends it so well. He will be up there,” added Hewitt, who in 2002 became the youngest Wimbledon champion since Boris Becker in 1986.
Hewitt is beginning his farewell tour on grass and is set to hang up his racket after next year’s Australian Open in Melbourne. Amidst the antagonism of the Ashes, there is one Australian sportsman who is sure to be cheered to the rafters in England this summer.
Hewitt believes that it is his relentlessness which has allowed him to transcend the natural sporting hostility between Brits and Aussies.
“Obviously there’s a rivalry with cricket and sports over the years but even when I was able to beat Henners (Tim Henman) I was still able to feel great crowd support,” Hewitt said.