Hewitt keeps eyes fixed on another Grand Slam

If you had to describe Australia's top seed, Lleyton Hewitt, in one word, then "pugnacious" would probably do the job best. If you had more than one word, then you could bring in variants like "tough", "unyielding", "durable". But you get the picture.

Every point Hewitt wins appears a battle. Even his drop shots have a macho twist to them, savagely backspun or cruelly directed towards the tramlines. And yesterday on Court No 1 the current world No 1 served further notice of his intention to fight for a title which a bewildering number of his fellow seeds have given up on early.

Should any habitual inhabitant of Henman Hill (if the other Brit wins Wimbledon, will they re-name it Rusedski Rise?) have been labouring under the hope that the 21-year-old Australian would make life even easier for the home players by following Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Marat Safin and Roger Federer out of the door marked "Shock Exit", they were swiftly disabused of the notion.

Hewitt's 6-4, 7-6 , 6-2 defeat of the qualifier Gregory Carraz took him through to the third round in fine working order as he seeks a second Grand Slam title to add to his US Open success of last year.

Asked if he thought the absence of some of the game's most celebrated figures from the second week of Wimbledon had devalued the tournament, Hewitt's reply was as punchy as one of his double-handed backhands down the line. "Wimbledon is Wimbledon. It's a shame for the crowd that they don't get to see people like Sampras and Agassi walk out and play another match. But I don't really care who I'm playing if I get to Sunday week," he said. "You know, qualifier, lucky loser, No 2 seed – doesn't matter."

He did concede that Wednesday's dropping of seeds had been extraordinary. "But, you know, I'm not that surprised," he added. "The depth in men's tennis is incredible. If you have a slightly off day, it won't be good enough."

Hewitt, whose Belgian girlfriend Kim Clijsters made an unscheduled early exit from the women's event yesterday, was clearly determined not to fall into that perilous position himself. Having reached the fourth round here last season, he had prepared to do even better on grass this year, winning a third Queen's title in succession, something that no other player has managed since a certain John McEnroe.

But in Carraz, whose only other previous Grand Slam appearance came at the 1996 French Open, he faced a man who was in no mood to speed his onward progress. The Australian was made to work yesterday, and at 5-2 down in the second set tie-break, even to worry, before he asserted himself in decisive fashion.

The lanky Frenchman wore a back-to-front white baseball cap – apparently oblivious to the fact that this was very much last year's thing. The world No 1 got rid of his trademark ponytail and hat last summer, and now sports a hairstyle that is just a millimetre or two short of the skinhead look. His new look does make him much less immediately noticeable, however, and such was the quiet way he went about his business at the start of this match that it was almost possible to forget who you were watching at times.

But serving at 4-5 down in the first set, Carraz finally showed why he was a qualifier rather than a seed by following a double fault with a feeble netted effort which left him needing to save two set points. He managed to regain parity, but then another weak approach shot presented Hewitt with the first breakthrough.

At 5-2 up in the second set tie-break, however, Carraz appeared on the brink of levelling the match. Here the whole thing was finely balanced. And here the Australian demonstrated how he managed to become the youngest world No 1 since the ATP rankings began 29 years ago.

An ace and another strong serve brought him back to 5-4, and then a forehand down the line on Carraz's serve levelled it. The Frenchman then produced what he thought was an ace, only to have it called a fault. His second serve was eventually thrashed away by Hewitt's forehand and the Australian, for the first time in the match, allowed his exultation to show as he clenched his fist in the direction of his watching coach, Jason Stoltenberg.

Having secured the second set, Hewitt effectively settled the match by breaking the Frenchman's serve to go 2-1 up in the third, celebrating an ungettable forehand return with a huge cry of "C'mon!" and two raised fists. It was like getting a brief glimpse into a furnace.

That kind of controlled intensity served him well in winning his first Grand Slam at last season's US Open after being embroiled in an early controversy when he was accused of racially abusing a linesman.

"I'm probably one of the most mentally tough guys around," Hewitt said. "I just block out as many things as possible. I wasn't going to let anything ruin the way I was playing throughout that second week at the US Open. I got better and better with every match I played. It wasn't that hard for me."

Even the sight of the Clijsters result on the big screen didn't faze him. "Yeah, I saw it," he said. "You know, I can't do much about it."

Better not bank on this seed drifting away from SW19 early.