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. Roddick won't be the only player a bit shaken by­ Lleyton knocking out Del P.
    Don't forget Del P was­ up 2 sets to 1 against Federer at RG but couldn't­ take a set off Lleyton. It's just so wonderful to­ see the Lleyts of old playing again so well on centre­ court.

    From cathrenehume, on Thu 25 Jun 7:46PM

  2. Classy display Lleyton let's see you rattle those­ big seeds.

    From peri, on Thu 25 Jun 7:18PM

  3. Hey Ralph,It looks like the slice is still the one shot­ that does stay low these days,Lleyton has a great slice­ and used it to devastating effect.Delpo didnt look­ quite at home on the grass did he,but it is very early­ days on the stuff for him,i mean,when Sampras first­ played Wimbledon he hated the stuff,so you never know­ !I think hard courts are where Delpo will excel,where­ the bounce is always true,and he knows where the ball­ will be every single time.

    From carlos480bc, on Thu 25 Jun 7:17PM

  4. hehe.. Ray V, then, the major task is how people,­ including Nadal are able to elevate their game and­ challenge Federer. So far, Nadal succeeds/succeeded.­ but then, the same knee problem eats nadal'S heart­ out. but let'S hope Nadal fully recovers soon so we­ can have good tenis to enjoy.... it'S boring indeed­ the same like. the analogy is the same, if it's the­ same guys staring at you, then you get bored easily..­ so, you need other guy/guys to challenge you... :P

    From Tonikum, on Thu 25 Jun 7:08PM

  5. roddick is not happy with hewitts win. leyton is­ roddicks original nemesis.

    From Ray V, on Thu 25 Jun 7:03PM

  6. whatever he is he is a serious NOB CHEESE and rumor is­ he is an uphill gardener...

    come back vagina wade and­ bjorn BOG.... john slapnblow come back all is forgiven

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 6:59PM

  7. welcome to federers era....one two many mediocre...no­ wonder fedex will make history by winning 20 GS without­ rafa.

    From Ray V, on Thu 25 Jun 6:56PM
  8. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    I discorvered a hot­ place-
    """""""Tallme­ et C om""""""" where­ many- sexy singles- who like dating and-- chatting­ there.- I'm an open- minded girl with strong­ s---exual- a--ttraction I-- am Waiting 4 u

    From Jenny C, on Thu 25 Jun 6:45PM

  9. fluke

    From sambellamy1995, on Thu 25 Jun 6:37PM

  10. Woohoow .. Great win Hewitt !
    Love watching him play !

    From hn, on Thu 25 Jun 6:26PM

  11. perhaps, for last four, Hewitt/Roddick vs Murray for­ top draw and Haas vs Federer for bottom draw. Just my­ two cents.. :-)

    From Tonikum, on Thu 25 Jun 6:22PM

  12. for teapsky, if you see the draw, Hewitt, Roddick and­ Berdych are on the same top draw. Roddick will meet­ Berdych in 4th round if both win their 3rd round match.­ and if Roddick win, there is a chance he will meet­ Hewitt in quarterfinal. While For Murray, the thoughest­ he can get, Wawrinka in fourth round and maybe Fernando­ Gonzales or Giles Simon in quarterfinal. But, let'S­ wait and see, who knows, a floater like victor troicki­ of serbia can provide a shock. But, i must say, Murray­ is having easy draw. No guys in top forms recently on­ his way to semifinal.

    From Tonikum, on Thu 25 Jun 6:20PM

  13. Murray's draw's not easy at all. Players like­ Hewitt, Roddick and Berdych is not what I call an easy­ draw. Gonzalez can play well too on grass. And a first­ round against Kendrick was tricky, a secound against­ Gulbis too. So stop with this easy draw stuff.

    From teapsky, on Thu 25 Jun 6:08PM

  14. Overjoyed to welcome Hewitt into "American"­ melange...great playing from a great player. Casel+:­ Sorry your posting was blocked because I was amazed­ when I open it and read one of the most­ "creative" and witty parenthetical come-backs­ ever. Was wrong about you. Superb! Cheers...

    From Hatsutking, on Thu 25 Jun 6:04PM
  15. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    Murray's very lucky,his draw's very easy...

    From Jeremy, on Thu 25 Jun 5:54PM

  16. Hewitt american... I've read a lot of stupid stuff­ here but this comment maybe wins the prize.

    From teapsky, on Thu 25 Jun 5:36PM

  17. Number 14 Hewitt is Aussie not a yank

    From Faye, on Thu 25 Jun 5:33PM
  18. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    hewitt is an american nob... bjorn bog come back and­ vagina wade

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 5:28PM

  19. I think when it comes to grass, only Richard Gasquet­ can match up to Lleyton

    From Nicholas, on Thu 25 Jun 5:27PM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    hewitt is a nob cheese

    From mike, on Thu 25 Jun 5:26PM
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