Australian Lleyton Hewitt pushed David Ferrer all the way in an epic five-set
battle on Lenglen on Saturday but could not quite pull off an upset against the
No5 seed.
Considered by many as an outside favourite for the tournament, Ferrer had an
excellent preparation for Roland Garros, winning his home tournament in
Valencia, reaching the final in Barcelona and the quarter-final in Monte Carlo
before losing both times to eventual winner and clay-court master, Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, 26, was expected to make light work of Hewitt who has been
sidelined from the game since April with a hip injury.
Ferrer got off to a great start, holding comfortably in the opener and
breaking Hewitt in his first service game when the Australian double-faulted on
break point. Hewitt got his name on the board winning a confident service game
to love at 3-1 but Ferrer continued to dominate the set and broke Hewitt again
to take it 6-2.
In a repeat of the first set, Ferrer went on to break Hewitt in the second
game and held to lead 3-0 but the former world No1 fought back and took Ferrer’s
serve, which was the cue for the first trademark “Come on!” of the match. With
the crowd behind him, a pumped-up Hewitt broke again to lead 4-3 as an
increasingly frustrated Ferrer picked up a warning for shouting a string of
obscenities. Showing no signs of being bothered by his hip, Hewitt broke Ferrer
for the third time in the set to level the match.
Ferrer seemed to be back on track at the start of the third, breaking and
holding to love and seemingly re-gaining control of the match but Hewitt
continued to press on the Ferrer serve. He failed to capitalise on break points
at 1-3, saved break points on his own serve and eventually broke back at 3-3
with a beautiful lob that left Ferrer stranded at the net. As the frustration
seemed to creep back into the Spaniard's game, he was broken again and Hewitt
served out to take the set 6-3.
Hewitt, seeded No25 which is his lowest ranking in a Grand Slam since the
2000 Australian Open where he was unseeded, let his concentration slip at 3-1 in
the fourth game of the fourth set. An unforced error gifted Ferrer the break and
this time the Spaniard made no mistake, holding to win the set 6-3 and take the
match into a decider.
Hewitt saved break points at 4-3 but played a careless game to allow Ferrer
to level at four all before losing his serve in the next game after being
foot-faulted for the second time (though to his credit, he kept his cool
throughout the match) and then tamely netting a backhand on break point. Ferrer
finally took the match in just over three and a half hours when a Hewitt
backhand just missed the line.
Ferrer now plays Radek Stepanek in the next round, the Czech player having
made light work of No12 seed Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-2 6-1. Hewitt meanwhile will
now head for Wimbledon at least with his confidence intact and having gained the
respect of the crowd for his sporting behaviour throughout the match, at one
point even awarding a point to Ferrer after the line judge had given the
Australian the benefit of the doubt.
Rd 2 defeated Mardy Fish 6-4, 6-3, 6-2
Australia's only remaining male competitor,
Lleyton Hewitt, gave his sore hip yet another quick work-out
as he motored to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over American Mardy
Fish in their second round clash at the French Open
overnight.
Hewitt had been sidelined during the entire clay court
season in the run-up to Roland Garros but did not feel any
ill effects as he battered Fish in a shade over two hours.
The former world number one said the straight-set victory
eased the burden on his hip.
"[It is] very important. It's a lot easier with the hip,"
he said.
"I wasn't 100 per cent sure how it was going to hold up
going into that first match. It's been better. Come
Saturday, I'm going to have to step up another notch."
The 25th seed has now reached the last 32 by dropping
just 19 games in his two matches to date but his run of easy
rides at the tournament is unlikely to last much longer.
Next up for the former US Open and Wimbledon champion
will be Spanish fifth seed David Ferrer, who lost only one
game in a rout of Frenchman Fabrice Santoro.
Hewitt is expecting to be tested to his limits against
the in-form Ferrer.
"He's one of the world's best clay court players out
there," Hewitt said.
"He's had good preparation leading into the French and
I'm definitely going to have to step up, and it's going to
test me."
Rd 1 defeated Nicholas Mahut 6-4 6-2 6-4
Lleyton Hewitt began his French Open campaign with a commanding win over
world No.43 Nicolas Mahut of France on Wednesday.
Hewitt, the No.25 seed, showed no sign of the hip injury that threatened to
prevent him playing at Roland Garros when he won the first-round match 6-4, 6-2,
6-4 in two hours.
Hewitt made inroads when he converted the second of two break points for a
5-4 lead in the first set. He then handed Mahut two break points with a double
fault on his own serve but managed to save both and clinch the set.
The Frenchman averted a scare in the opening game of the second set, saving a
break point, but Hewitt replied by converting the second of two break points in
the fifth game when his opponent sent a forehand wide.
Hewitt battled to hold serve immediately afterwards but took control in the
very next game with a smash to claim his second consecutive break. Serving for
the set, the Australian won the next game to love.
Another Hewitt double fault gave Mahut two break points in the fourth, and
the Frenchman claimed the first for a 3-1 lead.
Hewitt broke back three games later, however, and then held serve to restore
parity at 4-4 before claiming another break and the right to serve for the
match.
He converted his first match point with an ace.
It was Hewitt's first competitive match since the Davis Cup win over Thailand
in April and his first appearance on the ATP tour since the Miami Masters in
late March.
Q. How good was it to get the campaign underway finally and start with a
win?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, it's always nice, you know. Obviously tough day for
everyone yesterday, so it was good to get through today in tough conditions out
there.
It was extremely tough, especially on that court, where it just sort of
swirls around the whole place. Doesn't really go one way or the other. It was
tough for both of us, and you had to be mentally tough out there.
I felt I was able to do that. Yeah, he challenged in the third set, and then,
you know, I stepped it up and was able to finish it out, which I was happy with.
Q. Did you have any trouble with the hip at all during the match, and did
it sort of boost your confidence to get some game time?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. It's still not 100%. Obviously still a little bit of
pain and discomfort there. And, yeah, at the moment just trying to play through
as much as I can and see where it takes me.
So, yeah, I'm happy to get through in straight sets today. He's a dangerous
opponent.
Q. You were obviously challenged on that third set. Was it good to come
away with final five games and get a bit of momentum in the tournament?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, absolutely. He's got a big serve, a big kick serve. On
that court, it's one of the quicker courts out there as well. It's a little bit
drier than the other courts. His serve really takes off, and it's not an easy
serve to dictate play against.
I really stepped it up when I needed to, especially on my return of serve.
It's just a matter of moving him around and, you know, making him feel awkward
out there and wanting to go for the big shot. Then I got a couple of cheap
errors as the match went on.
Q. Obviously the hometown favorite, too. The crowd out there, was it
important to get the first couple of sets under the belt?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah. It's never easy playing someone ‑‑ yeah, he's obviously
got a high expectation. Enjoys this, and this is his biggest tournament of the
year playing here.
So, yeah, it was good to get on top of him early and put pressure on him at
least quieten everyone down.
Q. You get Calleri or Fish in the next round. How do you feel about either
of those?
LLEYTON HEWITT: They're both very flashy players, you know, play a lot of
hit‑and‑miss tennis. When they're on, they're extremely good, players, as we saw
of Fish at Indian Wells. I lost to Calleri in a tough match at the US Open last
year.
They're both great ball strikers from both sides. They've got good first
serves. It's a matter of hanging out there, and, yeah, sort of grinding it out,
I guess, and hopefully coming away with a good win.
Q. Could you confirm if you go to Chile for the next Davis Cup tie?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Yeah, at this stage I plan to. It's a long way away. You
know, right at the moment I'm worried about these two Grand Slams. Obviously my
body hasn't been 100% just yet. I can't say I'm focusing on it just yet.
Q. But what do you think about that match against Chile?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Well, it's going to be a tough one for both countries. Both
countries, I think, deserve to be seeded in the playoffs, so we probably
shouldn't be playing each other.
Q. Chile is the favorite because they play on clay?
LLEYTON HEWITT: Clay is our favorite surface. I don't know why you guys chose
that. .
