David Ferrer battles past Lleyton Hewitt into the fourth round – US Open 2012
Fourth seeded Spaniard, David Ferrer, overcame the challenge of 2001 US Open champion, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, in the round of 32 at the Flushing Meadows on Sunday.
Ferrer showed his superb fighting qualities, putting away five set points in the opener and then coming back strongly after losing the second one to allow the Australian to claim just three games in the following two, capturing
the contest 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.
It was an encounter between two of the most battling player on the ATP World Tour. After close fight for points in the first half of the match, it was evident that the fitter player would prevail and it turned out to be Ferrer.
The Spaniard grabbed breakthrough in the third game and won his following serve to go up 3-1 but Hewitt bounced back to square if off at 3-3. Rest of the set went with serves, taking the score to 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker.
The Australian star captured a 6-3 lead but Ferrer clawed his way back to level the points at 6-6. The Spaniard clinched a mini-break six points later and made the most of it to win 7-6(9).
Hewitt made a strong start in the second set, breaking Ferrer in the very first game and consolidating on it to attain a 2-0 advantage. The Australian sustained his lead till the end and grabbed it 6-4.
Ferrer gave a similar response, as he captured opening three games of the third set and capitalised on that to grab it 6-3.
The Spaniard gained complete control of the proceedings afterwards, as he did not allow the former world number one to win even a single game in the fourth set and triumphed 6-0.
Commenting on the proceedings of the contest, Ferrer said, "Early on he wasn't giving me any cheap points out there. It was tough to get games. His depth was exceptional right from the word go. I was fighting hard to sort of just
stay in touch in the first set, and then I started putting a bit more pressure on him. For most of the tie-break I was on top obviously. It could have gone either way. I'm not saying I was going to win, but if I'd won the first set it would have made life
a bit easier."
Ferrer will lock horns with the French contender, Richard Gasquet, in the fourth round.
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