Cahill marvels at Hewitt’s resurgent clay court form
Darren Cahill, who previously coached Lleyton Hewitt believes that the Aussie No.1 has a chance of beating Spanish double title-holder Rafael Nadal in round four of the tournament. "I was lucky when I got him when he was 19, 21. He’s a guy with a lot of fire in his eyes. It’s been difficult the last couple of years. The game has changed with everyone hitting the ball harder and with much more spin. Lleyton plays a flat game of tennis, so it’s always difficult for him on clay," Cahill said, "but I've got to say, this is the best clay court tennis I’ve ever seen him play. Hewitt likes to take the ball early from Nadal. He loves hitting the inside-out forehands to Nadal’s forehand. I think you’re going to see a lot more of an aggressive tennis match from Lleyton than in the last year few years,’ added the former doubles specialist.
Justine’s lucky charm
Three-time champion Justine Henin has revealed that eight-year-old Manuel is her lucky charm. "He follows me everywhere," said the No.1 seed about Manu, who is the son of her coach Carlos Rodriguez. "He was here when I won in 2003, 2005 and 2006 and he was there again in Dubai. I’m trying to see if he can stay a little longer here. He’s putting pressure on me, saying "Titine (that’s how he calls me), you have to win."
Petrova’s harsh words
Russian Nadia Petrova has lambasted the poor standard of coaching in professional tennis. "I’m very surprised, because this is a very high-level sport," Petrova said. "It’s one of the most popular and there’s so much publicity. But if you get a little closer, there are just a few people whom you can really call a coach. The rest are just young guys who tried playing in the Futures (lower ranked tournaments). It didn’t work out so they started as a hitting partner, and now they call themselves coaches already. I think you can only really call yourself a coach if you take a youngster to the top level."
