Hewitt happy to ease past lucky loser at Halle
Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt had few problems booking his place in the second round at Halle's ATP grasscourt tournament on Wednesday with an easy win over lucky loser Leonardo Mayer.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: June 09, 2011 10:46 AM IST
Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt had few problems booking his place in the second round at Halle's ATP grasscourt tournament on Wednesday with an easy win over lucky loser Leonardo Mayer.
Hewitt had been due to face French Open finalist Roger Federer in the first-round match -- a repeat of last year's final -- but the Swiss star's withdrawal on Monday saw Mayer promoted to the main draw.
The Australian eased to a 6-2, 6-3 win and he needed just over an hour, blasting down six aces -- four of which came in the first set -- and was rarely troubled by the Argentinian, ranked 206 in the world.
After Federer's withdrawal, Czech Tomas Berdych, the 2007 Halle winner and Wimbledon finalist last year, is now the top seed and he faces Viktor Troicki of Serbia in the quarter-finals following his 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) second-round win over compatriot Jan Hernych.
Troicki set up the third-round clash with Berdych when he beat Russia's Igor Andreev 6-3, 6-1 in straight sets in just 52 minutes.
Canada's rising star Milos Raonic, 20, who reached the last 16 at the Australian Open in January, also sealed his place in the last eight with a straight-sets win over Germany's Tobias Kamke.
Raonic hit 14 aces in the 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 win which took 71 minutes.
He will now face Philipp Petzschner in the last eight following the German's 6-2, 6-4 second-round win over Spain's Daniel Gimeno-Traver.
Hewitt now needs to beat Italy's Andreas Seppi in the second round on Thursday to also reach the quarter-finals and he said he was happy with his opening at this year's tournament.
"I don't feel too bad, I had no expectations going out there," said Hewitt.
"You have to adjust to the climate and the conditions - obviously the practise courts here in Halle are very different to the centre court.
"My body feels pretty good - after Paris I went to London for a few days to practise on grass."
Having been denied the chance to face world number three Federer, Hewitt said he anticipated the Swiss star's withdrawal from Halle, especially with Wimbledon starting in ten days.
"Seeing that I was due to play Roger Federer in the first round did not bother me, I didn't worry about the draw," said Hewitt who is making his first appearance since January's Australian Open after an ankle injury.
"I am focusing on my fitness and my matches.
"This time of the year is very difficult since we have two majors so close together.
"With Roger having played two tough weeks in Paris, I saw a small chance that he might pull out."
Hewitt is making his comeback and after under-going ankle surgery, on the back of two hip operations in the last two years, the 30-year-old says he is glad he has taken his time.
Hewitt says he is looking to rediscover his game and ignores his current ranking of 78th in the world.
"I could not care less about points, ranking is not important to me," he said.
"I have to pick up my game again, my timing, movement, footwork - everything has to become second nature again."