Hewitt wins TD Waterhouse Cup


August 29, 2004

AP - Aug 29, 2:46 pm EDT


COMMACK, N.Y. (AP) -- Lleyton Hewitt tuned up for the U.S. Open by defeating Luis Horna of Peru 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday in the TD Waterhouse Cup final for his second straight ATP title.

Hewitt, seeded second and playing as a wild card, won 20 of 22 first-serve points. Horna, seeded ninth and seeking his first ATP title, committed 32 unforced errors.

Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, closed the match with his 12th ace.

``My game has come together well, and I'm ready for the Open,'' Hewitt said. ``I know what it takes since I already won it. It's going to be incredible. Seven five-set matches. I am anxious to get going.''

The Australian has won 10 consecutive matches and 15 of the last 16. Sunday's victory gave him four titles this year -- last week in Washington, with the others in Sydney and Rotterdam.

``Usually I take off the week before the U.S Open,'' Hewitt said. ``But since I didn't have a tough week in Washington, I gladly accepted the wild card.''

The U.S. Open, the year's last major, begins Monday. Hewitt, seeded fourth, will face Wayne Ferreira in the first round. Ferreira, a 34-year-old South African who turned pro in 1989, is retiring.

``That makes the match even tougher,'' Hewitt said. `` Wayne certainly doesn't want to end his career that early.''
 

UPDATED 4:35 P.M., AUGUST 28 Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the championship match of the TD Waterhouse Cup after a mere 43 minutes on court. His first time opponent Dmitry Tursunov of Russia retired after losing the first set 3-6, and down a break 0-1 in the second. Hewitt will play the winner of tonight's match between Luis Horna and Paradorn Srichaphan.
      Hewitt won the toss and served up the first game with two aces. He continued to play aggressively and held serve at love in the fifth game which ended with two consecutive aces. With his solid strokes, smart shot selection, and dictatorial strategy, Hewitt plowed on, winning at love, once again, in the next game. He then held serve to take a 5-2 lead, and ended the set with two more aces at 6-3.
      The second set saw only one game, in which down 15-0, Hewitt decided to break and won four straight points. It was at this point that the trainer met Tursunov at his bench, and he retired from his first quarterfinal match of his career on tour.
      Two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan will be in action against Luis Horna tonight at 7 p.m in the other semifinal.

Hewitt reaches Commack final

August 28, 2004

AP - Aug 28, 3:45 pm EDT
More Photos


COMMACK, N.Y. (AP) -- Lleyton Hewitt reached the final of TD Waterhouse Cup when Russia's Dimitry Tursanov quit with a back injury after the opening game of the second set Saturday.

Hewitt, seeded second and tuning up for next week's U.S. Open, was leading 6-3, 1-0 against an opponent playing in his first semifinal. The Australian will play for the title against Paradorn Srichaphan, the two-time defending champion, or Luis Horna.

Tursanov, who is 21 and has been living in California since he was 12, has a history of back trouble. Before he retired against Hewitt he was examined by his trainer.

``I was surprised that he stopped playing,'' Hewitt said. ``My first set was solid, and winning on break point put extra pressure on him.

Hewitt will be playing in his third consecutive final. He won in Washington last week and was runner-up in Cincinnati before that. He has won 14 of his last 15 matches and is 52-13 for the year, including 32-5 on hard courts.

Hewitt is seeded fourth at the U.S. Open, which he won in 2001, and his first-round opponent is Wayne Ferreira. Last year, Hewitt lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the quarterfinals.

``I am happy with my play going into the Open,'' Hewitt said. ``After last year's Open, I changed my game a little and the results speak for themselves.''
 

Hewitt, Srichaphan Advace to Long Island Semis

Two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan and Lleyton Hewitt, the winner of eight straight matches, both won in three sets to advance to the semifinals of the TD Waterhouse Cup in Long Island. Srichaphan will play Luis Horna while Hewitt will battle Dmitry Tursunov.

Srichaphan battled from behind to advance to the semifinals with a 3-6 7-6(3) 6-3 win over Joachim Johansson. Johansson broke Srichaphan in the first and last games of the opening set to take a 1-0 lead. That was the first set in eight matches in Long Island that Srichaphan had dropped a set, dating back to the 2002 final. Johansson saved five break points in the second set to push it to a tie-break. A Johansson double fault as he trailed 3-4 in the tie-break gave Srichaphan the advantage. Srichaphan broke Johansson in the eighth game of the final set, then finished off the match with back-to-back aces.

Hewitt lost the first set in a tie-break, then dominated the rest of the action for a 6-7(6) 6-1 6-1 win over Juan Ignacio Chela. Chela broke Hewitt in the third game of the match, then saved seven break points before finally prevailing after nine deuces in the fourth game to open up a 3-1 lead. Hewitt got the break back in the 10 th game of the set, pushing the opening set to a tie-break. Chela won the tie-break despite two double faults. Hewitt dominated the second set and third sets to come from behind to win his eighth straight match.

Luis Horna battled to a 6-4 6-7(2) 6-4 win over Nikolay Davydenko in two hours and 19 minutes to advance to his fourth semifinal of 2004. Daydenko had two double faults in the 10 th game of the opening set to give the set to Horna. The players opened the second set by exchanging breaks of serve before Davydenko dominated the tie-break to earn a split of the first two sets. In the final set, Horna broke Davydenko twice to race to a 4-0 lead, but Davydenko got a break of his own to get back to 4-3. Horna was able to hold serve twice down the stretch to take the match.

Dmitry Tursunov got through to his first career semifinal, coming from behind to beat Jurgen Melzer 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4. The 21-year-old Tursunov is now 13-15 in 2004. After Melzer won the first set, Tursunov prevailed in the second set tie-break, then used two breaks of serve in the final set to win the match.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Johansson: "This morning my stomach felt a little upset. After the first game I started to feel more and more tired and finally in the third set I felt I couldn't do my best anymore."

"He just started playing better and I couldn't run as much. I felt like I was playing under pressure the whole match. If I played the same as I did in the first set I could have won the match."

"My serve felt pretty easy and put more pressure on him in the first set. In the third set I just started feeling tired."

Srichaphan: "I tried to stay positive [when Johansson was winning]. I just kept thinking if I hit good shots I can win, and this is my house."

"To play here and win two matches in a row gives me a lot of confidence and playing the quarterfinal match against the guy I lost to in the Olympics is not easy."

"Its hard to get into a rhythm against a guy with such a big serve. It's hard to get a rally going."

"Building from here I have a lot of confidence. I'm expecting to go into the US Open expecting to do well.

Hewitt: "I started playing well about half way through the first set, but it didn't show on the scoreboard. I tried to put pressure on him in the second set and it worked."

"This is the best I have hit the ball this week."

"We (Chela) had a good match in Indian Wells this year where I came back and won the second set after losing the first set. So I wasn't overconfident going into the third set, but I played well and won."


SATURDAY PREVIEW

Lleyton Hewitt takes an eight match winning streak into a semifinal showdown with Russian Dmitry Tursunov. Hewitt has won 13 of his last 14 matches, having reached the finals in Cincinnati and earning his 22 nd career title in Washington, D.C. This is the seventh semifinal of the year for Hewitt, a former World No. 1. Tursunov is playing in his first career semifinal. Hewitt and Tursunov have never met in an ATP match.

Two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan will look for his 14 th straight win in Long Island when he battles Luis Horna in the semifinals. It is the third semifinal of the year for Srichaphan, and the fourth for Horna, who is looking to advance to his first career ATP final. The 23-year-old Peruvian has reached three previous semifinals in 2004, but Long Island is his first career semifinal on hard courts. Srichaphan, the No. 4 seed, won his first career ATP title here in Long Island in 2002, and is looking to win his sixth career title this week. Srichaphan and Horna have never previously met.

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UPDATE 3-Hewitt, Paradorn head for Long Island showdown
Sat 28 August, 2004 04:03



By Simon Cambers

COMMACK, New York, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt and defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan moved a step closer to a showdown at the $380,000 Long Island Cup after coming through tough quarter-finals on Friday.

Hewitt outlasted fifth seed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-7 6-1 6-1 to take his winning streak to eight matches, having lifted the title in Washington last weekend, while Paradorn withstood a barrage of huge hitting to beat Swede Joachim Johansson 3-6 7-6 6-3.

"That was the best I've played this week," second seed Hewitt told reporters. "He is a top 20 player, a guy I really respect, and he makes you think about what you are doing.

"I was mentally tough out there, even though I had a lot of break-point chances, and I really just hung in there."

The Australian now faces Russian Dmitry Tursunov, who put out 10th seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria 4-6 7-6 6-4. Paradorn, looking to become only the second man to win the tournament three times in a row, plays ninth seed Luis Horna of Peru.

Chela went into the match full of confidence having beaten Hewitt in their only previous meeting and began well, breaking serve in the first game. Hewitt broke back in the 10th, only to double fault at 6-5 in the tiebreak as the Argentine won it 8-6.

Hewitt stepped it up at the start of the second set and, once he had broken in the third game, the match turned on its head.


TRADED BRAKES

A run of five consecutive games gave him the set and though the pair traded breaks at the start of the third, Hewitt broke again in the fifth game on his way to victory.

Earlier, Ivan Lendl's record as the only man to win the event in three successive years looked safe as seventh seed Johansson, who beat Paradorn 6-2 6-3 in the first round of the Athens Olympics 10 days ago, broke the Thai in the opening game.

Johansson boomed down a series of serves over the 140-mph mark as he took the first set. But as the match wore on, he tightened up and fourth seed Paradorn, sensing his chance, forced a second-set tiebreak and won it 7-3.

One break, in the eighth game of the third set, was enough for him to clinch victory.

"This is my house," Paradorn said. "There was nothing much I could do (when Johansson was hitting aces), but I just tried to hang in there and try to play a bit better.

"It's hard to find your rhythm against someone who serves so big because you probably don't have many long rallies, so I just had to try to get the serve back and go from there."

Johansson said he struggled with a stomach problem before the match.

"I couldn't really eat this morning," he said. "I tried to keep the points short but he started playing better and put a lot of pressure on me, especially in the third set."

Horna progressed by beating Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-4 6-7 6-4.

UPDATE 1-Hewitt continues excellent U.S. Open build-up
Fri 27 August, 2004 02:33
(updates at end of day)

By Simon Cambers
Reuters

COMMACK, New York, Aug 26 (Reuters) - Second seed Lleyton Hewitt continued his excellent build-up to next week's U.S. Open when a 6-1 6-4 win over Frenchman Michael Llodra on Thursday put him in the quarter-finals of the $380,000 Long Island Cup.

Hewitt, who will be the fourth seed at Flushing Meadows, outplayed the world number 56 to remain on course for his fourth title of the season.

He will face fifth seed Juan Ignacio Chela in the last eight after the Argentine beat Thomas Enqvist of Sweden 6-4 5-7 6-1 in the late match.

"I played well today," Hewitt told reporters. "I was right on to his serve from the start, which was important, as he's quite flashy out there.

"I just wanted to make him play one extra ball every time. In the second set I knew he'd get better and try to take it up a bit on his serve, and I just hung in there."

Llodra, who won his first singles title in Den Bosch in June, tried to pressure Hewitt into making mistakes but the Australian was close to his ruthless best, breaking three times on his way to taking the first set in 25 minutes.


DISPUTED CALL

The match was interrupted by a 10-minute discussion over a disputed line-call but Hewitt's concentration remained solid as he clinched victory on his first match point with a topspin lob.

At 6-1 1-0 to Hewitt, with Llodra leading 30-15 on serve, the Frenchman swung a serve wide to the Australian's backhand. Hewitt played the ball back into court but did not chase the next shot, saying the linesman had called the serve a fault.

A discussion ensued and the point was awarded to Llodra, although the line officials were replaced at the next change of ends.

"I was standing probably a metre in front of the guy and he called fault. It was one of those calls that he probably knew as soon as he made it that it was wrong," Hewitt said.

"I wasn't arguing that the ball was out, my point was that I stopped playing after I got the ball back."

The incident seemed to lift Llodra but Hewitt broke in the 10th game to clinch victory.

He has now won 12 of his last 13 matches and will head into the U.S. Open, where he reached the quarter-finals last year, high on confidence.

"I probably feel a little more confident," he said. "This year I am hitting the ball better going in. Having said that, I played well at the U.S. Open last year, even against Juan Carlos Ferrero (in the quarter-finals), but there's nothing better than winning matches."

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Nikolay Davydenko edged out eighth seed Fernando Verdasco of Spain 7-6 6-3. He now plays ninth seed Luis Horna of Peru, who beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-4.


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Friday, August 27, 2004

By Debbie Winkler
 

Hewitt d. Chela 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-1
Hewitt demonstrated resiliency and fierce competitiveness to advance to the semifinals of the 2004 TD Waterhouse Cup over Juan Ignacio Chela, of Argentina, in three sets.

In the first set, the battle between the two baseliners was tense as both hanged in for long rallies before one would end up hitting an error. After one point in the 11th game of the set, Hewitt had let loose an expletive from failing to hit a backhand winner, which provoked the chair umpire to issue a warning to the Aussie.

"I started playing well about half way through the first set, but it didn't show on the scoreboard, Hewitt said. "I tried to put pressure on him in the second set and it worked."

In a first set tiebreak, Chela showed great hands by sending a cross-court winner by Hewitt in his failed attempt at the net. However, with a 118-M.P.H. ace and his ability to run down almost every ball, the score was quickly tied at five-all. The first "come on" cry from Hewitt came just following a groundstroke winner, which Chela was unable to reach. The on-court battle wagered on as Hewitt followed this point with a double-fault, which tied the game at six-all, which set Chela up for a set point when Hewitt misfired a forehand shot into the net. The Argentine, a 2002 finalist at this Commack, N.Y., event, went on to capitalize on it and take the first set in 1 hour and 6 minutes.

Today, though, would prove to be a testament to the former world No. 1's talent and fighting ability, because although he was down, he was not out, which Hewitt proved by breaking Chela routinely, who produced so many unforced errors that he appeared to have run out of fuel in the tank following that first set rally.

"We (Chela) had a good match in Indian Wells this year where I came back and won the second set after losing the first set," Hewitt said. ÒSo I wasn't overconfident going into the third set, but I played well and won."

Hewitt advanced to the semifinals, by taking the next to sets 6-1, 6-1, and meets Russia's Dmitry Tursunov, the other quarterfinal match that was played on Center Court later on Friday.

TD WATERHOUSE CUP
Long Island, USA.
August 26, 2004
ATP Tennis

Hewitt Wins Seventh Straight Match

Lleyton Hewitt needed just over an hour to win for the 12 th time in his last 13 matches as he posted a 6-1 6-4 victory over Michael Llodra. Hewitt faced just one break point in the match and saved it while recording four breaks against Llodra.

Nikolay Davydenko advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over Fernando Verdasco. Davydenko used the momentum he built by taking the first set tie-break to open up a 3-0 lead in the second set to pull away for the win. Davydenko won 88 percent of his first serve points, compared to 71 percent for Verdasco.

Luis Horna got past Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-4 to advance to his fifth quarterfinal of 2004. The win for Horna came in the first meeting between the two players.

In the night match, Juan Ignacio Chela out-lasted Thomas Enqvist 6-4 5-7 6-1. The two played to four-all in the first set before Chela broke through to go up one set to none. Enqvist battled to take the second set, be the final stanza was all Chela.

WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID

Hewitt : "I played well right from the start. He's very flashy out there and I felt like I was on him right from the start."

"I feel good going in [to the U.S Open]. There are no easy matches at the U.S Open. You have to worry about beating all seven players in front of you. Right now I have to worry about beating Wayne Ferreira."

"This is the first time I've played a week before the U.S Open. Washington didn't really take a lot out of me. There were a lot of straight set matches."

THURSDAY PREVIEW

Two-time defending champion Paradorn Srichaphan will look to avenge a loss in last week's Olympics when he battles Joachim Johansson for a berth in the semifinals. In the first round last week in Athens, Johansson prevailed 6-2 6-3. Srichaphan comes into the match having won 12 consecutive matches in Long Island. Johansson is looking to advance to the semifinals for the second time this season. His only previous semifinal showing came in Memphis where he won his first career title.

Preceding that match onto Center Court will be a showdown between Luis Horna and Russian Nikolay Davydenko. Horna, a native of Peru, is playing for a spot in his fourth semifinal of 2004, on of which came in Munich where he lost in the semis to Davydenko, who went on to win the title. Davydenko has won two of the three meetings between the two.

Australian Lleyton Hewitt will put his seven-match winning streak on the line when he battles 2002 Long Island finalist Juan Ignacio Chela in the final match of the afternoon session. Chela won the only meeting between the two players, picking up a three-set win over Hewitt in the third round at Indian Wells earlier this year. Hewitt is looking to advance to his seventh semifinal of 2004.

In the night match, Dmitry Tursunov will take on Jurgen Melzer. Tursunov is playing in his third quarterfinal of 2004, but is still looking for his first semifinals appearance. This is the first meeting between the two players.

Matt Van Tuinen
Alan Taylor Communications

COMMACK, N.Y., August 20, 2004 - Former world No. 1 and current No. 5 in the ATP Champions race, Lleyton Hewitt, accepted a wild card into the main draw as the 24th TD Waterhouse Cup presented by Roslyn Savings Bank begins play on Monday at the Hamlet Golf and Country Club in Commack, it was announced by Kari Mutscheller, tournament director.

Hewitt, the former US Open and Wimbledon champion, has enjoyed stellar results during this summer's U.S. Open Series, including a finals appearance at the Cincinnati Masters (L. Agassi) two weeks ago and a semifinal berth this week in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, Hewitt returned to his top-ranked form of a few years ago when he held the No. 1 spot for 75 weeks, by claiming titles at Sydney and Rotterdam and quarterfinal results at Roland Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year.

"I am excited about finally having the chance to play at the TD Waterhouse Cup," said Hewitt. "I have heard great things about the event, and look forward to playing there next week."

A pair of Americans were also awarded wild cards into the main draw, up and comer Robby Ginepri and veteran Todd Martin. Ginepri registered career-best Grand Slam results this year by reaching the Round of 16 at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. The gutsy Martin, a two-time Grand Slam finalist (Australia, '94, U.S. Open, '99), always brings his "A" game to the hard courts and will look to make another run.

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi served notice earlier this month that he'll be tough to beat with his win at the Cincinnati Masters (over Hewitt) and a final four berth at Washington, D.C. The native of Las Vegas returns to L.I. for the first time since winning her in 1988.

Meanwhile, two-time reigning TD Waterhouse Cup champion Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand, will look to etch his name in the record books in his attempt to become only the second player to win three consecutive titles on Long Island, joining Hall of Famer and five-time L.I. titlist Ivan Lendl (1984-86, '89, '91) was the first.

Strengthening the remainder of the draw are Olympic gold medal finalist Nicolas Massu of Chile, ATP Champions race No. 13 Juan Ignacio Chela, 2004 Wimbledon semifinalist Mario Ancic and 2002 Roland Garros winner Albert Costa, among others.

"This is shaping up to be a very competitive Long Island field," said Mutscheller. "Adding Hewitt to the likes of Agassi and our defending champion Srichaphan should mean that our fans are in for some world-class tennis."