Strength of Body and Spirit Lifts Hewitt Against del Potro Lleyton Hewitt battled Juan Martin del Potro under the lights on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday night in a match that was by turns puzzling, fascinating, maddening (for fans of both players) and ultimately inspiring. Hewitt's resilience and love for the tough, challenging moments of a marquee match on the big stage ultimately wore down del Potro, who outplayed Hewitt for long stretches but was also prone to patches of lifeless, error-filled play. The match could be summarized as a five-act play. Hewitt outplayed del Potro for the first set and most of the second, playing with verve and passion that stood in contrast to del Potro's listless play. The tricky wind, which courses through the cavernous stadium and seems to carom off the stands and blow directly back in the direction it came from, gave both players trouble, but Hewitt's superior footwork and topspin ground strokes allowed him to play more consistently than del Potro. Del Potro's footwork is comprised of long strides to the ball, rather than the quicker, smaller steps that Hewitt uses. A sudden gust or shifting eddy of air wreaks havoc on his rhythm and timing. He also hits the ball fairly flat, which adds power but sacrifices the control Hewitt gets by brushing the ball with topspin. In the first two sets, del Potro misfired repeatedly with his forehand, normally his most reliable shot and signature weapon. After the first few games, he also began using his one-handed chip backhand almost exclusively. At first I thought that this was a tactical decision, but it soon became apparent that del Potro's left wrist was injured and that he could only use his two-handed backhand sparingly. The chip backhand worked well against Hewitt. A counterpuncher like Hewitt thrives on the pace and predictability of del Potro. Hewitt can play fairly low-risk tennis, absorbing and redirecting the power of del Potro's shots and tiring the tall Argentine with lengthy, grinding backcourt points. It's a tough matchup for del Potro, who has the burden of having to make the lion's share of decisions on every point. Another way to understand this is to see the simplicity of Hewitt's approach, which is to play aggressively but consistently, and rarely go for winners in the middle of the point. This forces del Potro to have to decide how to construct each point so that he can get the right ball to take control and try to win the point with a forcing forehand. So the onus is on him to play at exactly the right tempo to overpower a player like Hewitt. If he gets too passive, Hewitt will run him coast to coast; if he goes for too much, the unforced errors pile up and Hewitt is emboldened to take more intelligent risks. So the slice backhand altered that tactical dynamic. It would have been even more effective had del Potro gone down the line occasionally. If he ever develops his ability to open up the court with a down-the-line backhand, his game will ascend to an even higher level. In fact, using more variety and unpredictability would transform his already formidable game. As I watch him play, I am rarely surprised by his shot selection. Although breathtakingly powerful, del Potro's choices are high percentage, but predictably so. He tried some drop shots into the wind, but they failed almost every time, and he looked inauthentic trying to play with a bit of touch. Act 2 began with Hewitt serving for a two-sets-to-love lead at 5-4 in the second set. He tightened up, with unforced errors and a double fault, and he gave del Potro a chance to break. At deuce, Hewitt, recognizing the pressure of the moment, shrewdly attacked, rifling an inside in forehand to del Potro's right. What followed was an almost exact replication of the same situation del Potro faced in his 2009 upset win over Roger Federer in the United States Open final. Recall that Federer was also on the brink of a two-sets-to-love lead against del Potro. Serving at 5-4, 30-30, Federer ripped a forehand wide to del Potro's forehand side. The tall Argentine ran it down then hit the only shot that he had: a slim six-inch lane down the line. In 2009, the ball was called out and del Potro won the challenge, and the second set, and the championship. Last night, the ball was called good and Hewitt challenged. When he lost the challenge and the next point to lose serve, the match utterly changed. The players at this juncture of the match changed roles, with del Potro playing inspired power tennis and the normally emotionally resilient Hewitt looking bereft at his blown chance at an insurmountable lead. This was the third act of the match, with del Potro firmly in control as he rushed out to a 3-0 lead. Six straight games is a serious switch in momentum, and del Potro appeared to be on his way to a four-set victory. But early in the fourth set, del Potro seemed to take a game or two off on Hewitt's service game. A kind of ambivalence crept back into his game, and he gave Hewitt hope at this seemingly insignificant part of the match. I wondered if he knew that he could not win the tournament with his left wrist injury, and if that knowledge weakened his focus and resolve. Perhaps he was waning physically. Hewitt later said that he noticed that his opponent "was getting that half step slower through the fourth set." There was a sense that if del Potro didn't put Hewitt away this set, the indefatigable Aussie's superior conditioning would prevail in a fifth set. The fourth-set tiebreaker was the fourth act, and del Potro started off poorly, with an unforced error followed by a double fault. Hewitt raced to a 5-0 lead. He hit a superb backhand down the line passing shot to go up 4-0, then moments later hit a running forehand crosscourt pass that caught del Potro leaning the other way. The body language of the two players after the tiebreaker was revealing, with del Potro's broad shoulders slumped and his face slack and weary. Hewitt's eyes were electric with excitement as he shook a raised fist at his friends and family. The fifth set was anticlimactic, with the exception of one near break by del Potro, which could have reinvigorated him. But Hewitt's energy and passionate competing overwhelmed del Potro, who grew visibly dispirited as the match drew to a close. After the match, he made no excuses and gave full credit to Hewitt, but he did lament the difficulty of facing a player like Hewitt in the second round. It was a stirring performance by Hewitt, who seemed motivated by a sheer love of the game. Geoff Macdonald is the women's tennis coach at Vanderbilt.