June 15, 2008	Sunday	Jamadi-us-Sani 10, 1429

LONDON, June 14: Lleyton Hewitt has tipped Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic to break Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s dominance at Wimbledon.

Hewitt’s dream of a record fifth title at Queen’s was shattered by Djokovic on Friday as the Australian was given a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing in the quarter-finals.

The 27-year-old knows exactly what it takes to master grasscourt tennis after winning Wimbledon in 2002 and enjoying four successful campaigns at Queen’s.

But Djokovic’s ruthless display at Queen’s completed a hat-trick of victories over Hewitt for the Serb, following victories at this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2007.

Hewitt has seen enough to know Djokovic could beat Federer, who has won the last five Wimbledon titles, or Nadal, who finished runner-up for the last two years.

“Last year he obviously beat me in a tough match at Wimbledon, then beat (Marcos) Baghdatis in a tough match, took the first set off Nadal before he forfeited in the semi,” Hewitt said.

“Up till then he hadn’t really had great success on grass, so he’s just going to get more and more confidence playing on grass over the years.

“He moves as well as anyone out there. He can flatten the ball out, and he’ll make life tough for both Roger and Rafa.”

Hewitt’s hopes of capturing another singles’ title at the All England Club are remote after his slide down the ranking in the last two years.

The Adelaide-based star concedes a hip injury that is still hindering his movement has made it even harder to rediscover his top form.

But he will practice at Wimbledon next week in an attempt to find some rhythm in time for start of the season’s third Grand Slam on June 23.

“The injury is still hanging around there a little bit. I don’t expect it to disappear overnight. It’s a matter of just getting on the court, trying to get through as well as possible,” he stated.

“At this stage I just plan to practice. I’m happy with the matches I got this week but I’ve got a couple areas to still work on.

“Once I get over to Wimbledon hopefully in a week’s time, I’ll have more confidence on the grass as well,” he added.—AFP