WIMBLEDON, England (AP) Lleyton Hewitt pulled off one of the most spectacular shots of his long tennis career at Wimbledon on Thursday, and he didn't even get to see it.
Robin Soderling looked certain to win the point when he smashed a midcourt backhand deep into the corner. Hewitt sprinted across the baseline and lunged toward the ball, his racket outstretched, knocking a backhand winner over the net.
The 30-year-old Australian rolled over onto his knees and heard the crowd erupt. At that point, he guessed the ball must have landed in.
I didn't actually see it. Actually when I hit it, I thought it was going to the bottom of the net,'' Hewitt said.It was only that the crowd started cheering.''
What made it even more special was that it gave Hewitt the break for a 5-3 lead, allowing him to serve out for a two-set advantage over the fifth-seeded Soderling.
The 2002 Wimbledon champion and former No. 1 was rolling again on Centre Court, but it didn't last. Soderling recovered to win 6-7 (5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 and reach the third round.
Hewitt, who beat Kei Nishikori in the first round for his first Grand Slam win since last year's Wimbledon, had been in a doubt for this year's tournament. He retired from a first-round match in Eastbourne last week with a recurrence of a long-standing foot injury.
He was off court for nearly three months earlier in the season after surgery on the problem.
There was nothing inhibited about Hewitt's movement against Soderling. As well as that backhand in the second set, Hewitt also pulled off a couple of diving volleys reminiscent of Boris Becker at his best.
Hewitt said the adrenaline of being on the biggest stage had helped him block out any pain against Soderling. But despite the niggling injury and 13 years on tour, the Australian isn't considering retirement.
I love competing,'' he said.You know, you're retired for a long time once you're retired. I hear that from a lot of great athletes.
``For me, as long as my body's close to 100 percent, I want to go out there and compete. I still feel like I can obviously give these top guys as much trouble as anyone out there.''
Hewitt's ranking has dropped to below 100 and he may soon have to rely on wild cards to enter the big tournaments. The last of his 28 titles came in Halle, Germany, more than a year ago and he has lost 23 of his last 25 matches against top 10 players.
But the chance to play on arenas like Wimbledon's Centre Court, where Hewitt beat David Nalbandian in the 2002 final, keeps him going.
It's probably the best court to play tennis on,'' he said.It's a fantastic atmosphere. The walk onto the court, you know, you get goose bumps doing it every time.
``When you have great memories walking back out there as well, it's fantastic to play out there any time.''
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YOU OLD SOFTIE: Serena Williams showed her softer side Thursday as she spoke of her meeting with a sick five-year-old boy at Wimbledon.
Jack Marshall, from Scunthorpe in northern England, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2009. His mother Tracy has contacted a number of celebrities via social networking site Twitter to help spread awareness of his illness and raise money to support him and other sufferers.
His Twitter feed has nearly 40,000 followers, among them Serena.
Jack met Manchester United stars including Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney in April, and even gave England striker Rooney a kiss on the cheek.
On Thursday, he was on Court 2 to watch Williams beat Simona Halep in the second round. A day earlier, he met the 13-time Grand Slam champion, who has just made her return from nearly a year out with health problems.
I read his story, and my heart kind of went out for him,'' Williams said.I was like, 'Oh, my God.' That was one thing, I thought if I made it to Wimbledon, I wanted to invite Jack out.
``I got to meet him yesterday. It's just been so amazing, his whole story, to be so small to have such courage. He calls me his best bud, so I love it.''
The feeling is mutual. His mother tweeted that when Serena left their meeting, Jack said ``love you, miss you.''
She added: ``hi Serena I don't know what you've done but Jack-Marshall- has had SO much energy over past few days since meeting you,he is loving watching you play tennis and can't wait til ya next game! SerenaPower.''
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RAINY DAYS: Besides just playing her opponent Thursday at Wimbledon, Ana Ivanovic was racing against the clouds.
The 18th-seeded Serb was first up on Court 12 against Eleni Daniilidou of Greece. But with rain expected in the afternoon, Ivanovic wanted to get the match over as quickly as possible.
I started looking up and I saw them approaching. I saw the forecast this morning and I saw that it's supposed to start at 1:00,'' Ivanovic said after beating Daniilidou 6-3, 6-0.I was like, 'Don't interrupt now.'''
Ivanovic is a former No. 1 and won her only Grand Slam title at the 2008 French Open. But since then, her best results at a major have been three appearances in the fourth round.
Coming into this year's tournament at Wimbledon, however, Ivanovic warmed up with some wins on grass.
I think lots of players tend to peak for this event. It's one of the biggest tournaments in the world we have,'' Ivanovic said.Having good week in Birmingham, then playing well in Eastbourne, it obviously helps and it builds up for Wimbledon.
``This is where you want to perform your best.''
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COURT COMPLAINTS: Every grass court might look the same, but not to the players it seems.
Fifth-seeded Victoria Azarenka tweeted about her ``crazy day'' on Wednesday when she was due to play on Court 12, but ended up on Court 15 instead because of scheduling changes caused by rain. She beat Iveta Benesova.
``lets just say sometimes a heads up would be nice,'' she wrote.
Fernando Verdasco didn't appear to be happy either. The Spaniard mysteriously tweeted: ``ITF (equals) Thieves (equals) shameful.''
It emerged that the Spaniard had been fined $5,000 for an ``audible obscenity'' during his loss to Robin Haase on Wednesday. Fines are actually issued by the tournament referees' office rather than the International Tennis Federation, and it wasn't clear that was what Verdasco was referring to anyway.
In any case, Verdasco quickly deleted the tweet.