| Ferreira outlasts Hewitt for Mercedes-Benz Cup title |
| By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer August 3, 2003
It was Ferreira's first ATP Tour title in nearly three years. Ferreira, 31, and 33-year-old Andre Agassi (four titles) are the only over-30 players to win tournaments so far this year. He became the first South African to win the 77-year-old tournament, which was won by Americans the last seven years. ``I'm over the moon,'' he said. ``I shouldn't have even been playing and here I win the tournament. Every time I walk through there and see the past champions, they're the best in the world and my name is up there.'' Ferreira withdrew from last week's hard-court event in Indianapolis because of his groin. Add knee and shoulder injuries, and Ferreira said he was only 50-50 to play his first singles match Tuesday. But the pain he has felt daily for the last five months was no worse than usual, so he played. However, Hewitt noticed Ferreira was struggling when they opposed each other Monday in a first-round doubles match, and the Australian figured Ferreira would not last the week. ``He surprised me,'' said Hewitt, the former world No. 1 who was seeking his third title of the year. ``It's a great effort for him to dig deep and come through some tough matches.'' Ferreira, who lives in Berkeley, Calif., and Hewitt were practice partners last week when Hewitt's girlfriend, Kim Clijsters, played in the Bank of the West Classic at Stanford. Both men were seeking a return to form after first-round losses at Wimbledon. Los Angeles was just the second tournament in six weeks for Ferreira, who aggravated his groin during a third-round match at the French Open and had to carried off on a stretcher. ``The match was a heck of a lot better than our practices,'' Ferreira said. ``Both of us were playing terrible last week.'' Playing under a cloudless sky with temperatures reaching the high 80s, Ferreira won the first set. In the second, he had break points on four of Hewitt's service games but failed to convert. Down 5-4, Ferreira led 40-love on his serve before committing four straight errors. Hewitt won the set with a backhand passing shot. Leading 5-4 in the third set, Hewitt had three match points, but Ferreira answered with a 101-mph ace and a huge forehand that caused Hewitt to hit wide. On the third match point, Hewitt's forehand went awry. An Australian man egged on the crowd with chants of ``Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oi, oi oi!'' but most of the 7,027 fans were rooting for Ferreira and they answered, ``Wayne, Wayne, Wayne.'' Ferreira needed two more deuces before he tied the set 5-5. He broke to take a 6-5 lead on Hewitt's double-fault, then he won the nearly 2 1/2 -hour match with a 100-mph ace. ``I had so many chances and I didn't take them,'' Hewitt said. ``He came up with some huge points on his service games. Sometimes I wasn't even getting my racket on the ball. He was too good on the big points. He's got a bloody good serve.'' Ferreira earned $97,000. He planned to fly to San Francisco to have dinner with his wife, then catch a red-eye flight to Montreal for this week's Tennis Masters tournament. ``My body has held up pretty well. I seem to have a lot more endurance the older I've gotten,'' he said. ``If I keep playing like this, I have a great chance to do well at the U.S. Open.'' Hewitt's girlfriend also had a tough day. Clijsters lost a three-setter to fellow Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne at the Acura Classic two hours south in Carlsbad. |
quarters
Carlsen pushes Hewitt
From correspondents in Los Angeles
August 02, 2003
FORMER world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, who is seeking his third title of 2003,
rallied today to defeat Kenneth Carlsen 6-7 (6/3) 6-4 6-3 in the quarter-finals
of the Los Angeles ATP event.
Hewitt dropped the first set tiebreaker then took the next two sets by breaking
Carlsen's serve in the final game of the second set and the eighth game of the
third.
"That was the best I have ever seen him play," said Hewitt of Carlsen
who was appearing in just his second quarter-final of the year.
"He surprised me by how consistent he was from the back of the court. I was
unlucky to lose the first set but to my credit I dug deep."
The 2002 Wimbledon champion, Hewitt is playing in his first tournament since his
shocking first round defeat to Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic at this year's
Wimbledon.
Serving for the match today, Hewitt jumped out to a 40-0 lead then sent Carlsen
packing with a wicked cross-court forehand winner to end the two hour, 21 minute
match.
Hewitt's victory sets up a semi-final clash with Germany's Nicolas Kiefer, who
beat American journeyman Vince Spadea 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Hewitt hit only five aces to Carlsen's 15 but he was still pleased with his
serving which he has struggled with all season.
Hewitt won all 16 of his service games and both of his break points.
"I served great today," said Hewitt. "I wasn't in danger of
losing my serve the whole match."
Hewitt Tops Carlsen at Mercedes-Benz Cup
1 hour, 44 minutes ago
By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES - Lleyton Hewitt mocked the chair umpire, screamed in frustration
and bounced his racket a few times before defeating Kenneth Carlsen 6-7 (3),
6-4, 6-3 Friday to reach the semifinals of the Mercedes-Benz Cup.
The top-seeded Australian next will play Nicolas Kiefer, who on his sixth match
point beat No. 8 Vince Spadea 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. All four quarterfinals on the UCLA
campus went three sets and three of them took more than two hours.
Seventh-seeded Wayne Ferreira got by No. 2 Sebastien Grosjean 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4),
6-2. He'll play fifth-seeded Mark Philippoussis (news), who outlasted No. 4
Gustavo Kuerten (news) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5).
Kuerten saved the first match point with a drop shot that hit the net cord
before going over. He walked to the net and kissed it. Then he fired one of his
12 aces to force the tiebreaker.
Asked what he was thinking when the net cord went against him, Philippoussis
said, "I don't know if I can say that out loud. It wasn't pretty. He went
for it. He has great touch and it paid off."
Kuerten rallied from a 6-3 deficit in the tiebreaker and staved off two more
match points before Philippoussis won with his 22nd ace.
Hewitt's fiery personality emerged in the first game of the second set when he
disagreed with a call by chair umpire Norm Chryst. Hewitt and mockingly
stuttered at Chryst and urged him to "open your mouth." Hewitt wasn't
penalized and held serve to open the set.
Hewitt took time out to replace a broken shoelace and then held at love for a
5-4 lead. He finally broke Carlsen with a forehand winner to force a third set,
triggering a loud shout of "Come on!" as he sprinted to his seat
pumping his right fist.
"When he gets (mad) at himself, it's good for me," Carlsen said.
"You know you're doing something right."
Hewitt has had plenty of reason to be upset with his results. He failed to
defend his Wimbledon (news - web sites) title last month, losing in the first
round to Ivo Karlovic. He started the year strongly, winning hardcourt titles at
Scottsdale, Ariz., and Indian Wells, Calif., but has struggled since.
Hewitt, the world's top-ranked player the last two years, is fifth in the ATP
entry rankings, and Carlsen is 76th. Hewitt only faced two break points on his
serve in the match and served three love games in the third set.
"He didn't let me get into any rhythm when he was serving," Carlsen
said.
Carlsen didn't flinch in the third set until Hewitt broke him in the eighth game
for a 5-3 lead. Carlsen lost the game on a double fault. Hewitt then held at
love with a forehand winner to close out the match.
"He played very well, the best I've seen him play," Hewitt said.
"He had good rhythm on his serve the whole match. He really surprised me
how consistent he was from the back of the court."
Only recently is Carlsen finding his game again. He was off the ATP Tour for 19
months, including all of 2000, after two shoulder surgeries. By reaching the
quarterfinals, he equaled his best result of the year.
"It was only a couple of points here and there that decided the
match," he said. "I wasn't mentally ready to start the year.
Confidence is 80 percent of what you do out here. My game fell a little bit
apart."
Hewitt serves up a storm to advance at Los Angeles ATP
event
Agence France-Presse
Los Angeles, July 31
Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt blasted 14 aces, including five straight to
start his serving games, beating American Michael Joyce 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday to
reach the quarter-finals of the 380,000 dollar Los Angeles ATP event.
The 22-year-old Australian was playing for the second straight day against a
journeyman American in his first tournament since losing in the opening round at
Wimbledon.
"I felt I didn't serve that great yesterday so I came out here and tried to
work on it," said Hewitt. "It is a heck of a lot easier to take
control when you are serving aces."
Hewitt suffered a shocking early exit at this year's Wimbledon, losing to
Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic.
Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon winner, had one minor letdown in Wednesday's one
hour, 11 minute match when he lost his serve to go 3-3 in the first set.
"I took my foot off the pedal at stages but I felt I was in control of the
match," he said.
It was a more polished performance than the spotty play that marked Tuesday's
tournament 6-0, 7-5 win over American Cecil Mamiit.
"I got through my first two matches reasonably well and won both in
straight sets. I have to try to keep it going."
Hewitt will face Denmark's Kenneth Carlsen in the quarter-finals.
"I got a day off tomorrow then I have to get ready for Carlsen," said
Hewitt.
The 30-year-old qualifier Joyce was coming off his first ATP win of the season,
a three-set victory over American Jan-Michael Gambill.
Joyce's biggest career victory came in Los Angeles 1995, when he upset
then-world No. 1 Jim Courier in the second round.
| Top seed Hewitt advances after struggle in second set |
July 30, 2003 LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lleyton Hewitt started fast and staggered to the finish, advancing to the second round of the Mercedes-Benz Cup on Tuesday. Hewitt, the top seed in the $380,000 tournament at UCLA, overwhelmed Cecil Mamiit in the first set, 6-0. He fell behind 4-1 in the second set before rallying for a 6-0, 7-5 victory. ``I felt pretty good. I did what I had to do,'' said Hewitt, who was playing for the first time since his opening round loss at Wimbledon. ``After I beat him 6-0 he had nothing to lose; he came out and started swinging away. I didn't take my chances when I had them,'' Hewitt said. ``I had to dig deep to win it. |
Stars shine bright in LA July 30
Top seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt rediscovered his winning form at the Mercedes-Benz Cup in Los Angeles on Tuesday, sweeping aside local hope Cecil Mamiit in the first round, 6-0, 7-5. Hewitt looked sharp in his first singles appearance since his shock first-round loss to Ivo Karlovic as he was attempting to defend his Wimbledon crown last month. The Aussie finished the last two seasons as World No. 1 and Tennis Masters Cup champion, but he is in danger of failing to qualify for this year's Masters Cup in Houston with his current 15th-place standing in the ATP Champions Race 2003. However, he may be primed for a strong showing in L.A. as his best results in 2003 have come in the American West, with his two title wins coming in Scottsdale and at the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells.
Hewitt's countryman and Wimbledon runner-up Mark Philippoussis, the No. 5 seed, overpowered yet another Aussie - 20-year-old Adam Kennedy - in a blistering 6-3, 6-2 victory. Hewitt and Philippoussis are playing doubles together this week, and both said their first round win as a pair on Monday was ideal preparation for their singles matches.