Lleyton Hewitt knocks out Dudi Sela in the quarter-finals – Hall of Fame Tennis Championships 2012
Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, made a successful comeback to Newport, bouncing over Israel’s Dudi Sela in straight sets 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the last four-stage of the Campbell’s Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
in Rhode Island, USA on Thursday.
Hewitt did not allow Sela to settle down in the match, breaking the Israeli player in the very first game and winning his subsequent serve to grab a 2-0 lead. The Australian contestant hit another blow to Sela in the seventh to
stretch his lead to 5-2 but failed in serving it out in the following one, losing two in a row to see his lead reduced to 4-5. However, Hewitt did not lose the second opportunity and closed it 6-4.
The Australian star hit a lone ace and a double fault in the opening set. The 31-year-old could maintain a first serve percentage of merely 51 but managed to convert 15 of the 18 of them into points.
Just like the first set, Hewitt snatched a break in the opening game and consolidated on it to attain a 2-0 lead. Though, Sela hit back in the sixth to come on equal terms, evening out the proceedings at 3-3. The Israeli contender
could not maintain his momentum afterwards and lost three games in a row to go down 3-6.
Hewitt made drastic improvement in his serve in the second set, bombarding four aces and capturing 11 of the 13 first delivery points. The veteran also fared impressively on the second returns, as he claimed 10 of the 16 points
on them.
It took the Australian only an hour and 18 minutes to topple his opponent in an easy match.
Hewitt, who will represent his country at the London Olympics after some days, was happy with his performance. He said, "It worked perfectly to come here before I go back to London and get ready for the Olympics. Any time I get
an opportunity to represent Australia, it means a lot. I've done it in terms of Davis Cup, but the Olympics is a little bit different. To be able to play on grass, which is my favourite as a tennis player, is going to be great."
The Australian added, "I had a couple of rough draws at Queens and Wimbledon. It was nice to be able to get some rhythm this week and play my game. I feel like I've been getting better as every match went on."
Currently ranked 233rd in the world, Hewitt will play the local player, Rajeev Ram, in the semi-finals.
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