Lleyton Hewitt’s Wimbledon preparations disturbed by the early loss – Tennis News
Former world number one, Lleyton Hewitt, suffered a severe blow, as he lost his opening match at the AEGON Championships.
The Australian was beaten by Croatia’s Ivo Karlovic in straight sets 3-6, 2-6 in the first round encounter on the grass courts of Queen’s Club in London. Karlovic needed just one hour and four minutes to end Hewitt’s much anticipated
return to the Queen’s.
Talking to the reporters after the match, an irritated Hewitt said, "It's not really a tennis match in some ways when you're playing against a guy like that. The rallies and the skill in the other form of the game is totally out
of your control."
The Croatian is the same player who stunned the Australian in the first round of the Wimbledon Championships in 2003. It was for the first time in the history of the biggest and oldest tournament in tennis that a defending champion
was sent packing in the opening round.
This is not for the first time that Karlovic has beaten Hewitt at the AEGON Championships. The Croatian stunned Hewitt in straight sets 6-7(4), 3-6 in the quarter-finals in 2005.
He added, "It doesn't give you a chance to do a lot of things. You can't assess where you're at, at the moment. I can't assess my movement. So it's just a frustrating day, all up. There were plenty of better draws for me to get
some matches under my belt."
The grass courts of Queen’s Club were once ruled by Hewitt, as he completed hat-trick of titles here by winning in three straight years from 2000 to 2002. The Australian grabbed his fourth AEGON Championships trophy by toppling
James Blake in the 2006 final.
Making his 12th straight appearance here in 2009, Hewitt lost to another former top ranked player, Andy Roddick, in straight sets 6-7(2), 6-7(4) in the round of 16.
Hewitt, who had a toe surgery at the start of the season, was hoping to get match practice at this year’s championships to prepare for the Wimbledon Championships. He had lost to Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic in four sets 6-7(2), 3-6,
7-6(4), 3-6 in the first round of French Open.
The Australian will also use his All England Club’s membership to practice for the third Grand Slam of the season. He shared, "I have been using it the last two weeks. It works well for me. I can sit in there and have a cup of
tea.”
Hewitt, who had dropped to 205th position in the ATP Rankings at the start of this week, has been conformed of a wild card entry at the Wimbledon Championships.
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