Wimbledon - Men: Hewitt eases past Del Potro

Eurosport - Fri, 26 Jun 13:40:00 2009

Lleyton Hewitt returned to his old stomping ground at Wimbledon's Centre Court to score the biggest upset in the men's draw so far with a 6-3 7-5 7-5 win over fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro.

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia reacts during his match against Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina at Wimbledon REUTERS - 0

Australian Hewitt, ranked 56 in the world after a series of injuries but champion here in 2002, never allowed the Argentine an inch of breathing space with superb ground coverage and made the most of his opponent's discomfort at the net.

Del Potro, 20, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last month, had his left knee taped up at the end of the first set after a nasty slip, and Hewitt, who won the opener in 45 minutes, rammed home his advantage.

Hewitt, roared on by a vocal section of Australian fans, won his only break point of the second set late on before taking it 7-5.

He served for the match at 5-4 but Del Potro levelled only for Hewitt to break again and he made no mistake second time around by holding his serve to book a third-round clash with Germany's Philipp Petzschner, who battled past compatriot Mischa Zverev 4-6 7-6(13) 3-6 7-6(5) 6-0.

American sixth seed Andy Roddick overcame a mid-match stutter to beat Russia's Igor Kunitsyn 6-4 6-2 3-6 6-2 and progress.

Roddick, twice a finalist at the All England Club, looked set to sail through after taking the first two sets with ease thanks to his whiplash serve and improving ground-stroke placement.

But Kunitsyn, ranked 39 and facing the American for the first time, hit back in the third before Roddick sealed the win in two hours and six minutes on Court One, sealing it when the Russian hit an off-balance forehand into the net.

Roddick will next face Austrian 26th seed Jurgen Melzer, who beat Germany's Benjamin Becker 7-6(6) 6-3 7-6(1).

Eighth seed Giles Simon was forced to recover from a set down before beating Brazil's Thiago Alves 5-7 6-3 6-4 6-4. The Frenchman will face 31st seed Victor Hanescu in the third round, after the Romanian made light work of France's Nicolas Devilder and progressed thanks to a 6-2 6-3 6-1 win.

Russian 10th seed Nikolay Davydenko wasted little time in booking his place in the third round with a 6-4 6-4 6-2 win over Romania's Victor Crivoi and will next face Czech 20th seed Tomas Berdych, after he was similarly brief in closing out a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win over France's Paul-Henri Mathieu.

Czech 23rd seed Radek Stepanek was made to work hard to overcome a stubborn Potito Starace but eventually prevailed 6-4 4-6 6-2 4-6 6-3 and will next face 16th seed David Ferrer , after the Spaniard beat Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 6-3.

Stanislas Wawrinka booked his place in the third round after a 6-3 6-2 6-2 win over Argentina's Martin Vassallo Arguello and will face Jesse Levine, after the American emerged a 6-2 6-1 4-6 4-6 6-3 winner over Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.

Chile's 10th seed Fernando Gonzalez dropped the first set before recovering to put out Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-7(4) 6-4 6-4 6-4.

The French Open semi-finalist, who took to the court with a heavily strapped right knee, will face Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round, after the Spaniard put out French veteran Fabrice Santoro 6-7(1) 6-3 6-4 6-3.

Reuters

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  1. ALL TENNIS MATCHES ON INTERNET: AUSTRALIAN OPEN,­ WIMBLEDON, ROLAND GARROS, US OPEN, , DAVIS CUP , FED­ CUP, ATP INTERNATIONAL SERIES, MASTERS SERIES, ATP­ CHALLENGER SERIES, ATP FUTURES SERIES AND MUCH MORE

    From WWW.PREMIERSHIP.ALTERVISTA.ORG, on Fri 26 Jun 11:54AM

  2. So Rc_alcock is a spineless @#$% who can't even use­ their own nickname to talk trash?

    C'mon­ Rc_ALLcock...at least 'mike' (probably)­ isn't using an alias...making him not­ spineless...but still sounding like a @#$% HAHA

    From Gerry, on Fri 26 Jun 10:25AM

  3. Post 42/43: Rc_alcock,all your disgusting comments­ posted on my behalf with my username(which you­ nicked)have been reported.Via Yahoo,you're very­ likely to be sued thanks to all the proof­ gathered.Carry on,you're sawing off the branch­ you're sitting on...

    From hadjeseles, on Fri 26 Jun 10:11AM

  4. Delpo is very talented player who has all weapons to­ be great. Due to it, I cant understand why he is­ transforming in a "scared mouse" in front of­ big occasions (Davis cup 2008 with Spain) and­ "heros" (yesterday with Hewitt, AO with­ Federer)

    From siskra83, on Fri 26 Jun 8:10AM

  5. Delpo looked half asleep, his serve seemed to be on­ vacation. He had absolutely no chance. I don't know­ what was wrong with him. But he's young, he'll­ have opportunities, he has a great future. On the­ contrary Hewitt only has a great past. He'll­ probably get past Petzchner, but then things will get a­ lot tougher and I don't think he'll make it to­ the semis.

    From Jimmy, on Fri 26 Jun 5:59AM

  6. Hey, I'm an open minded girl from UK, I'm­ interested in exotic things, photography, dating and­ sports...I have my photos on --- SeekTall Co m ---, I­ love tall guys!
    Do you love traveling and have some­ experience? Just find me out.

    From robomile06, on Fri 26 Jun 5:20AM

  7. Boom and Bust, bye Leyton have a g'day

    From Ronsenglish, on Fri 26 Jun 3:01AM

  8. This is a sports page, not a Michae Jackson tribute­ page. And anyone who posts adverts should be banned­ from logging on to Yahoo forums.

    From ddubdrahcir, on Fri 26 Jun 2:27AM
  9. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    MICHAEL JACKSON HAS DIED...
    And a little,of me,has also­ died;D
    I have tickets for one of his concerts and paid­ a fortune,for them but life goes on although,not,for­ Michael;D
    Hihihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi
    Love Jess­ xxx

    From hadjeseles, on Fri 26 Jun 12:54AM
  10. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I was hoping for a jackson federer­ final;D
    Hihihihihihihhihihihihihihiihi
    Love Jess xxx

    From hadjeseles, on Fri 26 Jun 12:50AM

  11. Breaking news:MICHAEL JACKSON HAS DIED...I cannot­­ beleive it,I'm so gutted...RIP Michael,the KING­­ 4ever

    From hadjeseles, on Fri 26 Jun 12:21AM
  12. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    novak wins wimbledon!!! don't make violent­ reaction,coz u r really bad loser nor bitter!!!*just­ vote thumbs up*lolz

    From are_j, on Thu 25 Jun 10:52PM

  13. Del Po , Del Po.. what was wrong man ?
    grass like­ skating ?
    better luck next time.. you proved how much­ you worth on RG.. hard court season continues.. and it­ will be way better !
    and Hewitt.. good old master !

    From Igor K, on Thu 25 Jun 9:45PM
  14. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    murray is a co k suker

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 9:42PM

  15. he can make semi-finales , good job leyton

    From marius_unicatu_2008, on Thu 25 Jun 9:40PM

  16. Mucking around half the afternoon trying to find a­ decent live feed for this one. Finally got­ "lucky" mid-way thru' the 3rd set. The­ main difference in the half hour I saw was that one guy­ seemed to be moving like a fish in water and the other­ was wondering where his feet were by comparison. By all­ account, the guy served like a demon for most of the­ match. Hewitt's first-round scoreline added to this­ win suggests that he's arrived here in his best­ form for a while. The operation seems to have done­ whatever it was supposed to do. Over five sets on this­ surface, he's surely got a fair chance against­ anybody in the top half of the draw. IMO, the only guy­ he truly fears is in the other half.

    From rhymes450, on Thu 25 Jun 9:29PM
  17. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    federer is having gay sex with hewitt

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 8:56PM

  18. People either have forgot how good Leyton was and still­ is,or people are so new to the game that they dont­ realise that he is a multiple slam winner and dominant­ former N0 1.He won Wimbledon and i think 3 or 4 at­ Queens,so he knows how to win on grass,in fact his­ record on grass is second only to Federer.He could go a­ long way here.

    From carlos480bc, on Thu 25 Jun 8:27PM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    faye do one if i say hes a yank he is a yank now shut­ it

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 8:05PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    the fog on the tyne is all mine

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 7:59PM
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