NOTEBOOK

NOTEBOOK

Hewitt wins tough match: Lleyton Hewitt made it to the fourth round — at last. Hewitt started his third-round match against No. 22 Guillermo Canas of Argentina Saturday, but rain and darkness delayed the 2002 champion’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win until three days later. “That’s the longest and toughest rain-delayed match I’ve ever had to put up with,” Hewitt said. “It was a mental battle more than anything out there.” Hewitt still doesn’t know who his next opponent will be, because No. 4 Novak Djokovic and Nicolas Kiefer were sent home Tuesday night after showers suspended their third-round match at one set apiece.

Waiting: Roger Federer hasn’t played a match since last month. The long layoff is a result of the backlog in matches at wet Wimbledon, and the bye he received when fourth-round opponent Tommy Haas pulled out with a torn stomach muscle. Bidding for his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title, Federer last played Friday — June 29 — when he beat Marat Safin. His long layoff will end when he faces Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals, weather permitting. Might Federer be rusty? “I will see at the beginning,” Ferrero said. “But anyway, these matches are very long. It’s best-of-five. He has enough time to get rhythm [in the] first, second, or third set.”

Weather woes: Jelena Jankovic thinks she was upset by the bad weather as much as her opponent. The third-seeded Jankovic lost to No. 18 Marion Bartoli of France 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, and said the four rain delays in the match dented her concentration so badly she was missing even routine shots. “There is no reason for me to lose this match,” Jankovic said. “But in these circumstances anything can happen. It suits the lower-ranked players. Without breaks, I think I could have won in two sets.”

Dreadlocked: Svetlana Kuznetsova thinks people are more interested in her hair than her tennis. The 22-year-old Russian, who reached the quarterfinals Tuesday, said people keep asking her about the dreadlocks she has in her blonde hair. “’How long did it take?’ I hear it more than my name,” she said. “I have to put a huge note on my front so everybody knows.”

Associated Press