Hewitt stunned in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (TICKER) —Lleyton Hewitt’s good fortune finally ran out in this city.

Unheralded Frenchman Julien Benneteau produced a huge upset at the Tennis Channel Open on Wednesday, ousting defending champion Hewitt, 6-3, 7-5, in the second round of this $436,000 hardcourt event.

The second-seeded Australian has dominated the tournament in recent years, also claiming titles here in 2000 and 2003. Additionally, the 27-year-old had reached the final in five of his six appearances, including the past two years.

Benneteau brought those streaks to a screeching halt, breaking Hewitt five times and handing him just his fourth defeat in the last 31 matches here.

“It’s a good win,” Benneteau said. “I played a very good way and I’m happy about this match. I have to be fit like this on the quarterfinal on Friday.

The (key) was first not to give him some free points, and not make some mistakes. After that, take some opportunties when I could.”

Hewitt looked to be back in form after an impressive 6-1, 6-1 opening-round win over Marat Safin. But the world No. 24 was betrayed by his serve against Benneteau, who never has won an ATP singles crown and improved to just 6-4 this season.

The Frenchman had two service breaks in the first set and two more in the second to seize a 5-3 lead before Hewitt briefly flashed the form that has won him 26 career singles titles.

Hewitt held serve and then broke Benneteau on a double fault to pull even at 5-5, but Benneteau broke right back before serving out the final game for the match.

Benneteau next will face unseeded Sam Querrey of the United States.

Querrey needed just 58 minutes to knock off eighth-seeded German Nicolas Kiefer, 6-3, 6-1. The American converted 5-of-6 break-point chances to reach the quarterfinals here for the second straight year.

“I played really well today,” Querrey said. “I started off a little sluggish, went down a break, 2-1, but then just played solid and kept the ball to his forehand - kinda break him down a little bit - and just played aggressive, especially when I was returning his second serve.”

The world No. 66 and highest-ranked American in the draw, Querrey had won just one match since he had been struggling coming into this event, falling in the first round at San Jose and reaching the second round last week in Memphis.

LAS VEGAS (AP)—Defending ATP Tennis Channel Open champion Lleyton Hewitt of Australia made quick work of wild card entry Marat Safin on Monday night in his first-round match.

Hewitt, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, needed 58 minutes for a 6-2, 6-1 victory in a rematch of the 2002 Australian Open finals. Safin won that match for his second career Grand Slam title.

Hewitt, a three-time Tennis Open champion, also topped Safin in straight sets in last year’s semifinals, 7-5, 6-1. This year’s win gave Hewitt a 7-6 advantage in the all-time series.

“Marat is a tough guy to play because he has so much power,” Hewitt said. “I mixed up my play a little bit and he struggled. But you never know with Marat. He can turn it on at anytime.”

Hewitt, ranked No. 24 in the ATP, set the tone for the match in the opening set when he broke Safin’s first serve. He also broke Safin in the set-clinching game, where Safin committed a pair of double faults and an unforced error. Hewitt also broke Safin twice in the second set.

“The first round of any tournament is tough until you get your teeth into it,” said Hewitt, who never had his serve broken and recorded seven aces. “I knew I had to be on my game from the start.”

Safin, of Russia, has seen limited activity this year with a torn ligament in his ankle and a viral infection.

A former world No. 1 and owner of a pair of Grand Slam titles, he has fallen to No. 87 in the rankings. Safin lost in the second round at the Australian Open in January and has played once since, falling in the first round last week in Memphis.

“I’m out of rhythm, so of course it’s tough to play with someone like Lleyton Hewitt,” said Safin, who committed 31 unforced errors.

Robby Ginepri of the United States dropped the first set against Belgium’s Xavier Malisse in the match before Hewitt’s victory, but rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. He took advantage of five double faults by Malisse in the final two sets for a 1-hour, 57-minute victory.

No. 4 seed Canas defeated Thomas Johansson of Sweden 6-3, 7-6 (3), who had 24 winners to 13 for Canas. Johansson made 37 unforced errors in losing for the third consecutive time to Canas.

It was Canas’ second match of the year, having been sidelined with left wrist tendinitis. He lost in the second round last week in Acapulco, Mexico.

“It’s great,” Canas said about his wrist. “I didn’t feel any pain at all.”

Kiefer, the No. 8 seed, defeated countryman Benjamin Becker 6-4, 6-3 in their first meeting. American Sam Querrey beat Sebastien Grosjean of France 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (8). Querrey fired nine aces in the match, including one clocked at 136 mph.

“I had to serve on his match point and worked through it,” Querrey said. “Then I just kind of buckled down and made a good first serve there (on his final ace). I actually caught him really clean.”

It was the third time this season that Querrey has been involved in a third-set tiebreaker, and he won one for the first time. “I was kind of sick of that,” he said. “It felt good to get over it.”

Vegas' unique offerings wow competitors

Lleyton Hewitt has revealed the secret to his success at the Tennis Channel Open: He has to play well in order to pay for his wife's shopping sprees in Las Vegas.

"My wife loves the shopping here, so I've got to try to win the tournament just to break even," said the 27-year-old Australian, who won last year's event here after placing second in the inaugural tournament. "When I'm practicing, she has a good look around at all the hotels and a lot of very expensive stores in there as well."

Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam champion (2001 U.S. Open, 2002 Wimbledon), has made his third straight trip to the TCO -- which pays more than $68,800 to the winner -- accompanied by his wife, Australian actress Bec Cartwright, and their 2-year-old daughter, Mia.

"I'm probably a little different than most of the players, because I have a young family, so a lot of the players stay out later than I would and probably gamble a little more than I do," he said.

Like many of his fellow TCO participants, though, Hewitt said he loves Las Vegas and enjoys the city's diverse mix of shows, restaurants and other attractions.

"It's priceless. You can't see that stuff anywhere else in the world," said Hewitt, who has seen impressionist Danny Gans and comedian Brad Garrett and dined at the N9NE steakhouse at The Palms in past years. "My wife and I were extremely impressed. We're very fortunate this city can hold so many different kinds of comedians and great acts.

"It's an amazing place just to walk down the (Strip), especially at night. We really enjoy it."

Swedish player Thomas Johansson, the 2002 Australian Open champion, lives in Monte Carlo but said the popular European tourist spot doesn't compare to Sin City.

"It's not even close to being like Las Vegas," he said. "This city is 24 hours, which is amazing to me. When I go to bed at night, I see people sitting at machines, and when I wake up in the morning, they're still there.

"Just walking around, there are so many things happening in this city, everywhere you walk, you're like 'wow.' "

Johansson's coach, fellow Swede Magnus Norman, said they made a point of fitting the TCO into their calendar.

"We really tried to squeeze this tournament for Thomas into our schedule because we wanted to come back here," said Norman, a former No. 2 player in the world.

Norman and Johansson went to the "O" show at Bellagio and "Tao" at the Venetian last year, and Norman also went to the nightclub "Pure" at Caesar's Palace. He said this year's agenda could include the play "Mamma Mia" and a round of golf, weather permitting.

"We're both like a 10-handicap, which makes it kind of interesting," Norman said.

"Tao," "Pure," "O" and other Cirque du Soleil shows are among the favorites for many players, including the Bryan brothers, Mike and Bob, the top-ranked doubles team in the world and two-time defending TCO champions.

"This is one of the best weeks (on the ATP Tour). There is so much to do when you're off the courts," Mike Bryan said. "The energy is on a different level, so we're looking forward to it.

"If we win the title, I'm sure we'll have a fun night out, maybe go to Pure, (Las Vegas resident Andre) Agassi's place. He'll hook us up. A lot of guys give Andre a call. He's our connection to the city. He runs the place and gets us free tickets to shows, dinners and a table at Pure. He's the man."

The Bryans, one of the best doubles teams in tennis history, also spend a lot of time at the blackjack tables, where they wager about $20 a hand.

"We're still learning our strategies," Mike Bryan said. "I bought a blackjack book, and I'm reading up on it. I'll try some card counting techniques."

Mike Bryan said 2006 TCO singles champion James Blake is "always the big winner at gambling" among the players, most of whom are staying at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Promising American player John Isner, 22, was planning to try his luck in a poker room in his spare time, but first-time visitor Mirjana Lukic appeared overwhelmed by the city's vast array of attractions.

"There are so many different things to do, it's difficult to pick right away. That's the hardest thing," said Lukic, who will compete in the women's event this week at the Darling Tennis Center. "We're so excited, but we don't know where to begin. Hopefully, I'll stay here long and keep playing, which is the most important thing.

"You need to be rested and ready (to play), but in the meantime, it's really good to relax your mind and not think about the match."

Tell that to Hewitt, who faces Marat Safin at 7 p.m. today in a rematch of the 2005 Australian Open won by the Russian. Hewitt's wife's next shopping spree could hang in the balance.