Lleyton Hewitt shocks Jarkko Nieminen to enter quarters – If Stockholm Open 2012
Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, got the better of the eighth seed, Jarkko Nieminen, in a three-set mouth-watering match at the If Stockholm Open 2012 on Wednesday. He summed up a 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-4 victory against the world number 39 to secure a place in the final eight at this indoor hard court event held in Stockholm, Sweden.
The wild card recipient, Hewitt re-ignited his spark to outclass Nieminen in their fifth meeting. After notching this victory in two hours and 18 minutes, the Aussie improved to a 5-0 lifetime in the FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series against his fellow 31-year-old and powered into the quarter-finals at the Kungliga tennishallen.
Hewitt thundered into this ATP World Tour 250 Series event. He cashed two break chances and cruised to a 4-1 lead. Despite losing his serve twice after that and going 4-5 down, the Aussie remained focused and took the set to a tie-breaker. He dominated in it before pulling out the opener with a 7-6(2) score line.
The left-handed from Finland made a fitting reply in the proceeding set. He got the critical break in the opening game and jumped to a 2-0 lead. Nieminen plucked his remaining serves with poise and after breaking his opponent’s serve once again, he clicked the equaliser with a 6-2 win.
Currently ranked 102nd in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Hewitt carried his losing ways towards the deciding set. He dropped his serve in the third game and went 1-2 down. The Aussie recovered in the very next game but lost his serve again, eventually trailing at 2-3. However, Hewitt not only snatched his break back in the sixth game and ultimately pocketed the decider with a 6-4 win after cashing another break chance in the last game.
Next in queue for Hewitt is third seeded Nicolas Almagro who trashed the Romanian qualifier, Marius Copil, in straight sets to set up this meeting. The world number 12 withstood 15 aces and impressively marked 25 out of 34 points on his first serve share of 52 per cent.
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