Blake v. Hewitt (AGAIN!)

In the realm of sub-rivalries, it seems that James Blake and Lleyton Hewitt may be forever linked. They wound up going at it again at the Stella Artois champs in London, over the weekend.

Blake looks better that I thought he would on grass, though he seems oddly uncomfortable with the whole serve-and-volley thing. He has something of a hit-it-and-fall-down serve, anyway, not a flowing motion that carries him into the net, so I wouldn't expect him to be able to adapt to the classic grass court style (Federer doesn't have a classic S&V approach, either). He's more of a power counterpuncher, always looking for opportuntites to use his forehand.

Unfortunately, Hewitt is the definitive counterpuncher. He has also taken a page out of the Fed playbook by dialing back his serve and going more for placements. Ditto his winners. He has won four Stella Artois (Queens Club) tourneys, so he knows how to prepare for Wimbledon.

As for Blake, he did knock Roddick off in the semis. That to me was a shocker and changes my view of how Wimbledon might shake down this year (I've been predicting it to be the place where Roddick stages his comeback--if you can be a top five player and need one, which he does).