Lleyton Hewitt cripples Matthew Ebden to enter round two – Newport ATP 2013
Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt conquered Matthew Ebden with a breadstick in an all-Australian clash at the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2013 on Tuesday. He jolted down a 6-4, 6-1 victory against his compatriot to
secure a spot in the second round at this ATP World Tour 250 series event taking place in Newport, Rhode Island.
Seeded fourth in this event, Hewitt recreated his magic to outclass Ebden in straight sets. After pocketing this match, the higher ranked Aussie edged in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 1-0 against the 25-year-old and inched
closer towards the title.
“I made a massive improvement in the week I was here last year, and I got a lot more confident with the matches I played back-to-back,” said the Australian veteran in a courtside interview after clinching the match. “I went to
the Olympics straight after here and played fantastic, played as well as I played in a long time… That got my year back on track.”
The returning finalist, Hewitt, suffered the first blow in the opening game to trail at 0-1. He snatched his break back in the very next game but lost his concentration again, eventually going 1-2 down. However, the veteran not
only recovered in the proceeding game but stayed calm to keep his remaining serves. He got the breakthrough in the last game and clinched the opener with a 6-4 score line.
Currently ranked 64th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Hewitt kept momentum running in the following set. He broke his rival’s opening serve and leaped to a 3-0 lead. After Ebden held his serve in the
fourth game, the 32-year-old stroke out the last three games and sealed the set with a breadstick.
On the whole, the veteran clobbered a higher first serve share of 46 per cent in contrast with Ebden’s 38 per cent and amazingly marked 18 out of 27 points on it.
The top seed, Sam Querrey, suffered a shocking opening round exit at the hands of Tim Smyczek later that day.
The 2009 finalist stated in a post match presser, “My first serve percentage was low. I just think it’s lack of rest over the past couple of weeks. It was pretty sunny on the one side, so it was a little difficult. I couldn’t really
find a flow out there. I just felt off the whole time.”
Smyczek will square off against the French wild card entrant, Nicolas Mahut, who trashed America’s Rhyne Williams in straight sets to set-up this encounter.
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