Hewitt reels in Henman to take third title in a row

British No 1 acclaims Australian rival as best in world but takes heart from defeat in run-up to Wimbledon

It only takes a few victories against the same opponent for one man to believe he "owns" the other. We are not referring to Tony Blair against the Tories, although the Prime Minister showed some nice touches here yesterday when partnering Pat Cash in a pro-am charity set against Ilie Nastase and Alistair McGowan.

The big issue is Lleyton Hewitt, who has now won all five of his matches against Tim Henman, two of the last three in the final of the Stella Artois Championships on the Centre Court lawn here.

An intriguing thought is that the Australian world No 1 and the British No 1 may next meet at Wimbledon for the first time, a prospect dependent on today's seedings, tomorrow's draw, and the the form the players produce in the best-of-five-set matches at the Championships, which start next Monday.

The 21-year-old Hewitt, who defeated Henman in two tie-break sets here last year, lost the opening set of yesterday's final and then made the important shots to win, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, after two hours and 12 minutes.

Hewitt may have been raised on the concrete courts of Adelaide, but yesterday he completed a sequence of 15 wins at Queen's and lifted the huge silver cup for the third year in a row. That was last achieved by John McEnroe, who followed up his third success at the Stella, in 1981, with the first of his three singles triumphs at Wimbledon.

In contrast to McEnroe, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, and others who have succeeded at both Queen's and Wimbledon, Hewitt does not serve and volley. His style is more akin to Andre Agassi's, or a fiery version of Bjorn Borg's.

So far, Hewitt has been unable to advance beyond he fourth round in three visits to Wimbledon, but, young as he is, there is no doubt that his game and confidence have burgeoned since he out-played Sampras to win the US Open last September en route to ending the year as the top man in the game.

Henman's game has also improved over the past 12 months since his defeat by Goran Ivanisevic in the Wimbledon semi-final. Importantly, he believes in the progress of his game strongly enough to be able to overcome disappointments such as the outcome of yesterday's match, in which he not only lost his first-set advantage but also lost his temper over a line call and received a code violation for an audible obscenity.

"I know if I take this type of tennis into Wimbledon, I'm sure I can go farther than before," Henman said. "I've learned to play the right tactical game against Lleyton, but I've got to execute it better. The reality is that I've got to do it for for two sets. In that match, I could only for it for one. The reason why I won the first set was that I won some very close games. In the first game of the second set I had a break point, and he hit a great serve. Serving at 3-0, I had three game points. It was a game I should have won, and didn't."

Then again, Hewitt is no ordinary opponent. "He's the best in the world, it's as simple as that," Henman said. "He's able to play that type of tennis week in and week out. He's a phenomenal competitor with tremendous mental attitude. When you break down his game, shot for shot, he doesn't have an outstanding shot, but he has lots and lots of good shots, and he is serving heavier than before."

Ominously for his rivals, Hewitt was not satisfied. "I'd like to serve a bit better," he said, while conceding that, "My movement, passing and returning are going pretty well at the moment."

Hewitt gave Henman his due. "He's one of the big favourites for Wimbledon, and one of the best grass court players in the world," the Australian said. "He's come awfully close here and at Wimbledon. His form has been pretty consistent on grass. I think he played better all-round than last year. Very rarely did he serve and volley on his second serve, but he hit some good kick serves."

Concerning Wimbledon, Hewitt said: "I haven't been past the round of 16 yet, but I know what it takes to win a Grand Slam, playing seven best-of-five-set matches and pacing yourself through two weeks. When you get to the quarters and the semi-finals, you know what it's like. It's a good experience to draw upon."