Resurgent Hewitt could be man to halt ‘invincible’ Federer

LLEYTON HEWITT continued his dramatic grasscourt re-emergence by swatting aside the challenge of Italian Filippo Volandri to reach the second round at Wimbledon in style.

The 2002 champion fell out of the world top 10 due to a persistent ankle injury but his fourth Queen’s Club crown two years ago set him up for another title challenge.

And the way in which Hewitt disposed of the world number 5-6 6-1 6-1 6-3 sent out a clear warning to his rivals in the bottom half of the draw – maybe even the seemingly invincible Roger Federer.

Hewitt said: “Obviously on grass I feel at home straight away and I felt like I could be in charge out there dictating play. It was the perfect result today.”

Despite never really coming close to repeating his title win four years ago, the 25-year-old contends he has never lost the belief that he has what it takes to succeed on second Sunday again.

He added: “The way I played last year coming in after a few small injuries I felt like I hit the ball extremely well and apart from Federer, I felt like I was the best player here.

“The US Open was the same because I felt I played well the whole time and had a chance against Federer. It was only really the Australian summer where I struggled a little bit.”

Hewitt , is due back on court today against improving South Korean Hyung-Taik Lee.

Fourth seed David Nalbandian continued his serene progress through the draw with a thoroughly convincing 6-4 6-4 6-3 second round victory over Arnaud Clement.

The low-key Argentinian dazzled his opponent with a delightful array of passing strokes which suggested he might be the man to pose the biggest threat to Federer’s dominance.

And Nalbandian insisted he was feeling no ill effects from the injury which forced him out of the French Open semi-final, saying: “I am playing better every time and in good shape.”

Fifth seed Ivan Ljubicic survived a major scare and a four-hour marathon before finally wearing down last year’s quarter-finalist Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4 5-7 3-6 11-9.

The Spanish serve and volleyer battled his way past the Croatian’s big serve to come back from two sets down but Ljubicic finally took advantage of his eighth match point to squeeze through.

Former semi-finalist and 15th seed Sebastien Grosjean comfortably overcame his fellow Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-4 6-2 6-4 to take his place in the second round.

Eighth seed James Blake continued his quiet progress into round three with a 6-4 6-2 4-6 6-2 over the rapidly improving Yeu-Tzoo Wang of Taipei.

Seventh seeded Croatian Mario Ancic breezed past Davide Sanguinetti 6-4 6-2 6-1 in their second round match, but ninth seed Nikolay Davydenko fell at the first hurdle to Colombian Alejandro Falla.