Imperious Johansson

By Dan Oakes
January 15, 2005
Swede Joachim Johansson's powerful game has attracted as much attention as his five-year relationship with Jaslyn Hewitt.

Photo: Tim Clayton

To fill the void left by the departure of Aussie Kim, let's welcome Aussie Pim. Joachim "Pim-Pim" Johansson, that is.

The two tennis stars have more in common than vowels and consonants, though. Johansson is the boyfriend of Jaslyn Hewitt, whose slightly more celebrated brother was famously engaged to Kim Clijsters.

And the origins of the nickname? When the 22-year-old's brother was small, he was unable to pronounce Joachim, instead calling him Joa-pim, which stuck and became Pim-Pim (also the name of Swedish confectionery).

But Johansson is much more than an addendum to the Hewitt family. This is the player of whom Andre Agassi said this week: "You give me his game and I'm going to make sure a lot of people aren't sleeping well . . ."

Jaslyn and Johansson have been going out for five years, with the Swede spending plenty of time in Adelaide with the Hewitt family. En route to winning the Australian hardcourt championships in the South Australian capital last week, he said that success at Memorial Drive would mean more to him than a normal tournament win because of his link to the city.

Unsurprisingly, the only time tension enters the air when talking to the normally relaxed Johansson is when he is asked about his role in Australian tennis' most famous family.

"For me, it doesn't really matter who I would be going out with," he said. "Obviously, going out with Jaslyn . . . there's probably more writing about me than it would be in another case, but for me, that doesn't really matter, and I don't think it matters for her either. It's not a problem for me, I normally do the stuff I feel like I want to do and that doesn't affect me at all."

While his Australian connections are bound to make him a crowd favourite at Melbourne Park if he plays - Johansson withdrew from the Sydney International this week with a hamstring injury - they are not the reason for his increased public profile.

His victory over American Taylor Dent in the hardcourts final brought him his second ATP title and underscored his phenomenal rise from No. 113 to 11 over the past 12 months. Last year, he won the title in Memphis and made the semi-finals at the US Open, beating defending champion Andy Roddick before falling to Hewitt. More tellingly, barring Sydney, he has reached the quarter-finals or better of his past seven tournaments.

But statistics do not tell the full story. It is only when watching Johansson on court that you see the evidence of his promise and power. His disposal of Dent in the final can only be described as imperious. The American had enjoyed a decent tournament, tipping out Hewitt, but Johansson battered him into submission, winning 7-5, 6-3.

Jaslyn Hewitt, Joachim Johansson's girlfriend.

Jaslyn Hewitt, Joachim Johansson's girlfriend.
Photo:Clive Brunskill

The most striking aspects were his booming serve and blistering groundstrokes, but his movement around the court also stuck in the mind. For a man of 198 centimetres, he exhibited extraordinary grace.

It is also difficult not to be impressed when you speak to Johansson for he is eloquent, courteous but reserved, and seems to have a wry sense of humour and self-deprecation.

This combination of raw ability, form and mental discipline has raised the possibility that he could become the second Swede, after Thomas Johansson in 2002, to win the Open since Mats Wilander in 1988. The No. 11 seed faces veteran Dutchman Sjeng Schalken in the first round.

Dent was in no doubt that his Adelaide conqueror was in with a shot at the title, saying: "I don't see why not. I believe men's tennis is all about holding serve, and if he's playing like that on his own serve, I don't see how guys are going to break him."

Agassi was equally upbeat about Johansson's chances. "It's a hard game to deal with. He is one of the biggest serves and one of the biggest forehands you will ever see and he is a big guy who can make a lot of spectacular shots, so it would be very possible for him to put it together," he said.

Johansson was uncharacteristically tongue-tied when asked why his rise up the rankings had been so meteoric.

"I am a tall guy and maybe it takes a little bit longer to develop, especially with my movement," he said. "Before, I didn't used to move that great, and I've been working a lot on that for the last year-and-a-half, two years, and it feels like all the hard work paid off for me.

"I feel like I play a little bit smarter. If I get a few shots in the corners, it feels like I'm treating the ball as it should be treated. Before, maybe I was just going for some shots."

The Swede believes he can improve on every aspect of his game, but he wants to shape his game around coming to the net more in the future.

"I'm not as comfortable at the net as I am at the baseline. You see a lot of guys who have maybe the same build as me, we're not playing the same, but maybe we should. They're coming in much more, like (Mark) Philippoussis, (Richard) Krajicek, (Pete) Sampras."