Florian Mayer outguns Lleyton Hewitt to level the scores – Davis Cup WG Play-off 2012
Local star, Florian Mayer, got the better of the former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, in straight sets at the Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2012 on Friday. He recorded a 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 victory to level the scores by 1-1 against visiting nation at the Rothenbaum Stadium in Hamburg, Germany.
Earlier, the Australian number one Bernard Tomic battled past Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in four sets to prevail over the host nation.
However, Mayer displayed top notch performance in the second singles rubber to outclass the Aussie and even the scores. He not only avenged his loss at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas but also levelled the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series by 1-1 against the world number 100.
"I tried to weather the storm ... I was only a couple of points away from winning that first set and that would have been nice," the Aussie veteran reflected in a post-match press conference. "At least to put a bit more scoreboard pressure on him and know he is going to have to go at least four sets to win. After he played a good game to break me at 6-5, it was hard to stop him with his confidence pretty high."
The 28-year-old sloppily stepped into his home clay event. He suffered the first blow in the ninth game to trail at 4-5. However, the German decided to up a gear and stroke out the last three games, eventually sealing the opener by winning seven games to five.
Ranked 25th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Mayer maintained his intensity in the following set. He got the desiderated break in the fourth game and took a 3-1 lead. Despite squandering his edge in the very next game, the German got the breakthrough in the eighth game and clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
Mayer kept momentum rolling in the third set and after breaking his opponent’s serve twice, he jumped to a 5-1 lead. The German held his serve once again and bagged the set with a 6-2 win.
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