DO YOU REMEMBER - JESSE WITTEN

In the US OPEN, Jesse played through the Qualies  and got in the main draw.

He's now in Australia hoping for the best.

 

LAST SEPTEMBER

Fourth seed Djokovic barely knew what hit him as he came face-to-face with a player who had never won a tour match before this week but American Jessie Witten thrilled the hollering home fans for almost 3-1/2 hours before he succumbed 6-7 6-3 7-6 6-4.

Being on a roll is something Witten had never experienced before this week.

Struggling to make ends meet on the lower echelons of tennis the 26-year-old came close to quitting the sport earlier this year. Things went from bad to worse on the eve of Open as he became a victim of the global credit crunch when he was dropped by his clothing sponsor.

But handed a wildcard into the qualifying draw, the 276th ranked Witten has made the most of his opportunity to get some free laundry done at the expense of U.S. Open organisers.

Domestic chores aside, for over an hour he responded to the rhythmic chants of "Jess-ie, Jess-ie" ringing around Louis Armstrong Stadium as he tormented a racket-bashing Djokovic.

But in the end, he did not have the firepower to subdue Djokovic, who applauded the American's heroics before telling the crowd. "It was hard to tell who was the number four player out there."

"Once I started playing, I mean, we're having rallies, and you don't really think of the rankings. You're thinking strategy more than numbers," said Witten, who had to request almost two dozen tickets from the organisers to satisfy the demands of his friends and family.

Despite his defeat, Witten hoped the biggest payday of his career -- $48,000 for reaching the last 32 - will allow him to prolong his career for "at least the rest of the year."

REUTERS