Leyton Hewitt ends his 15 match losing streak against Roger Federer
Leyton Hewitt shocked the world when he defeated 16-times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer for the first time in their last 16 encounters to lift the Garry Weber Open in Halle, Germany. The Australian defeated the Swiss with the score of 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) and 6-4 to win his first tournament of the season. It was also Hewitt’s first final this season.
Federer approached the match with full confidence. His last defeat from the hands of Hewitt came in 2003. After that, he won 15 consecutive matches against the 29-year old Australian. Federer record in Halle has been impeccable to say the least. He won the Gerry Weber Open five times before and was coming to this match with 29 consecutive victories in this tournament. He was also in super form this year; he proceeded to the final without facing any hurdle or losing a single set. On the other hand, it was Hewitt’s first appearance at Germany’s only grass surface tournament. With Federer playing his characteristically strong game this year, no one was predicting that Hewitt would upset the World No.2.
Federer started the match strongly against the former Wimbledon Champion. He looked set to cruise through the match when he broke Hewitt in his first service game to eventually seal the first set 6-3. Hewitt fought back in the second set to break Federer early in the set. Federer broke back in subsequent games to take the set to a tie-breaker. Hewitt easily won the tie-breaker to level the set scores and to become the first player to take a set off the Swiss maestro in Halle since 2003.
Hewitt kept his momentum going in the third set when he broke in the opening game to take lead. Hewitt held his lead till the end to finally seal the match and championship. It provided a timely morale booster for Hewitt, who has just recovered from an injury before the start of the tournament. With a grass court win over Federer, Hewitt will reach Wimbledon with full confidence. Wimbledon will be starting from 21st of this month. Commenting on his victory, Hewitt said, “It’s fantastic. Roger is a h**l of an opponent and everybody knows how good he is on the grass court. His record speaks for itself. Roger is a great player and a great champion and every time you step on court against him, you are the underdog on every surface”.
Meanwhile, Federer is confident that this defeat won’t affect his chances in Wimbledon but instead will boost his resolve and drive for another Wimbledon Victory. He said, “I was unfortunate not to come through today, but the loss here does not worry me in any way. I thought it was a good tournament for me. I have got to ensure I draw the right conclusions for Wimbledon".
In another grass court tournament in London, Sam Querrey was the last man standing, when he defeated his compatriot Mardy Fish to win his first Queen’s club grass tournament. Like Garry Weber Open, Queens is also considered a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon. It was Querrey’s third title win this year and first on grass. He has previously won Memphis (hard court) and Belgrade (clay) opens. It was first all-American final since 1994 and Querrey was eighth American to win this tournament. He defeated Mardy Fish in straight sets with the score of 7-6(7-3), 7-5. Querrey hit total of 15 aces in the match which underlines his dominance of the match. Commenting on his chances for Wimbledon, the American said, “I’m playing great on the grass, and now I’ve got a week to practice and regroup. I’d love to win Wimbledon. I’m kind of going with baby steps (to) try and make the third round this year, because the second round is the best I’ve ever done there”.
On Women’s court, there was another upset when Li Na defeated former World No.1 Maria Sharapova to clinch Birmingham title and to win her first title of the year. Li Na won the match with the score of 7-5, 6-1 to upset the Russian.
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