Tennis: Dent goes down blazing

Richard Dunn

Taylor Dent of Newport Beach, playing fifth-seeded Lleyton Hewitt

of Australia in the second round on center court at Wimbledon, provided

plenty of highlights Thursday but lost a grueling, five-set decision to

Hewitt, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3.

Dent, 20, was down two match points in the fourth set, but rallied to

win and force a tie-breaker, in which Dent dominated. To go ahead, 3-1,

in the tie-breaker, Dent’s serve registered at 144 mph, the fastest ever

recorded at Wimbledon.

Hewitt was outhit by Dent’s powerful serving and ground strokes in the

first set, then fought back in a match of high ambition and drama on both

sides of the net.

Hewitt had the edge in the second and third sets, before serving for

the match at 6-5 in the fourth.

Dent staved off the first match point, then dodged another bullet when

Hewitt’s serving failed him. On the second match point, Hewitt hit a

return long for deuce, then double faulted twice to give Dent break point

and the victory.

Dent, who inspired the crowd with animation and enthusiasm, pumped his

fists several times during the fourth-set tie-breaker.

Hewitt, however, captured the fifth set to win the match, which lasted

more than three hours.

Prior to Wimbledon, Hewitt won two straight grass-court tournaments,

while Dent, who played at Corona del Mar High, is coming off a title on

the international challenger circuit. He won the the Powder Byrne Trophy

at the $50,000 grass-court event in Surbiton, Great Britain.

Dent, who told the Daily Pilot that his goal is to crack the top 10 on

the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour this year, continues his

success on grass.

Last year, after winning three qualifying matches at Wimbledon, Dent

took the opening set in his first-round match against Andre Agassi,

before retiring in the fourth set with an injured right knee.

Dent, who trains out of Costa Mesa Tennis Center, won the 1996 CIF

Southern Section singles championship as a freshman for Coach Tim Mang’s

Sea Kings. He stopped playing high school after that spring to focus on a

pro career.