Lleyton Hewitt believes his coach Tony Roche will have a key part to play in his fourth-round clash with Roger Federer at Wimbledon.
Federer heads into the contest as the clear favourite against the 2002 champion having won the last five titles at SW19.
However, Hewitt has already shown enough in his campaign to date to suggest he could at least extend the Swiss who dismissed Frenchman Marc Gicquel with almost contemptuous ease on Friday.
Hewitt and Federer first played each other at the age of 15 and the Australian is relishing the chance to lock horns with the world number one on grass again.
He also believes that Roche, who used to coach Federer, will be able to provide some important information on how best to take on his former charge tactically.
"Rochey's obviously going to know a lot. There's no doubt about that," Hewitt stated. "But you've still got to go out there and execute it as well, and, you know, not play into Roger's hands too much.
"We both know our strengths and weaknesses. We've played enough times. We've played a couple of times here at Wimbledon, as well, in quarters and semis of this tournament.
"If you're just playing in his comfort zone then he's going to enjoy that. He does enjoy dictating play, playing off when the ball is in his court and he can dictate, have you going side to side and changing pace and changing direction and all that different stuff. That's when he's at his best.
"But this is what you play for. There's no doubt about it. Especially in my situation, these are the matches I enjoy. It's good to get out there and play on Centre Court, play against the best player in the world."
Federer wary
For his part, Federer was wary of the threat posed by Hewitt, claiming the Australian's experience would see him presented with a far sterner test than that offered by Gicquel who succumbed 6-3 6-3 6-1.
"The next round will be difficult against a more experienced player," he said. "Hewitt's a former world number one. He's won Grand Slam titles. It should be an exciting match."
