John Roberts: Hewitt accused of 'unfair' pressure as defeated Dent attacks umpire

Lleyton Hewitt stepped out of line more in more ways than one yesterday on his way to a quarter-final meeting with Feliciano Lopez, of Spain.

His seven foot-faults were a technical problem. His berating of two baseline judges was a case of indiscipline, and he was fortunate to escape with one warning, for verbal abuse. Otherwise he successfully controlled his emotions during a three-hour workout during another sweltering day on Centre Court, making some breathtaking recoveries from the baseline, including three exquisite lobs over the advancing Dent.

Taylor Dent, the American whom Hewitt defeated on Centre Court in the fourth round, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-4, was also convinced that Hewitt's complaining persuaded the umpire, Enric Molina, to change a baseline call in his favour at 2-2, 30-30 in the fourth set.

"I thought the umpire handled the situation poorly," Dent said. "I don't disagree with the call at the end of the day. There's no question the ball was out of my reach. But the umpire didn't change his call until after Hewitt started complaining about it. That's not the right sign to send to all the other linesmen around.

"If Hewitt is going to complain and start to get all these calls, that's just unfair advantage for him. And that's exactly what happened there. I don't know how many matches the umpire's done on Centre Court, I don't know if the situation got to him, if he's intimidated by Hewitt, or whatever."

Asked if he intimidated umpires, Hewitt said: "I don't think so, no. I only questioned a couple of line calls today. Taylor questioned calls as well out there. It's the same for both ends. There's a lot of calls out there you don't question, either."

Hewitt continued: "The over rule came and Taylor actually walked to the other side of the court. It was sort of Taylor's fault."

Dent, one of the sport's last remaining serve-and-volleyers, blamed himself for the defeat. He hit 18 aces - and 13 double-faults.

"For three-quarters of the match, I felt I played fairly solid tennis," Dent said. "But there were times in each set where I was just helping him win. I was giving away points on my serve, missing volleys, hitting double-faults, and missing a lot of shots from the baseline at stages."

Dent made a lumbering start, double-faulting twice to lose the opening game, which gave Hewitt the momentum to go 4-0 up before the American was able to put a foot right. After holding in the fifth game, Dent returned a second serve as Hewitt served for the set 5-2, 30-40.

The Australian took the set in the 10th game, passing Dent with a backhand down the line after a lively rally on his second set point after 37 minutes.

Turning towards the players' guest box, Hewitt roared, "Come on!". He shaped his left hand like a snake's head and pointed it towards his face in the manner of Sweden's Mats Wilander in his pomp in the late 1980s.

Although Dent did not give Hewitt as much leeway in the second set, a break for 2-1 proved sufficient, chiefly because the American was unable to convert any of three opportunities in the fraught sixth game.

Dent's confidence improved in the third set as he began to play his way into the match, although the fact that he served an ace at 141mph in the third game was less important than the smash that saved a break-point at 3-3 after he had double-faulted three times.

It was not a question of Dent's forcing a tie-break in this set. Neither player was able to take the initiative. But when the shoot-out arrived, it became the most dramatic passage of the contest. Hewitt hit an ace for 6-4 with the match two hours and 20 minutes old, but he was unable to convert either of the two match points. He netted a backhand on the first, on his own serve, and Dent, serving at 5-6, produced a backhand volley that Hewitt returned long.

Dent hit an ace for 7-6, only for Hewitt to erase the American's first set point with an ace of his own. Hewitt then played a forehand long, and Dent's next ace converted the second set point for 9-7.

Two thoughts came to mind at this stage. The first was Hewitt's previous Wimbledon match against Dent in the second round in 2001, when the Australian was a qualifier. Hewitt missed two match points in the fourth set but won the fifth set, 6-3, after three hours and six minutes.

The second thought was Hewitt's quarter-final against the Dutchman Sjeng Schalken on Court No 1 en route to winning the title in 2002. Hewitt, leading by two sets to love, held two match points ahead of a tie-break in the third set, Schalken took him to five sets.

Dent, who has yet to win a match from two sets to love down, was unable to change that here, Although he recovered from 2-0 down in the fourth set - winning the subsequent nine points in a row - Hewitt broke decisively for 5-3 before serving out to love on his third match point and three hours and two minutes.

Hewitt, who underwent surgery in March to remove a cyst from his right foot and missed the French Open after cracking two ribs in a fall down the stairs of his Sydney home, said his game moved up a level yesterday.

"Taylor started a little tentative," Hewitt said. "I was happy with the way I started. Playing a guy like Taylor, the first set was going to be pretty big. From then on, I felt I was in control of the match. I feel my game's gone up another notch or two, which it needed to."