final

04:04 Thank you for those across Europe staying awake to follow comments on eurosport.com/co.uk! For those in the States have a good evening and be sure to re-join us for live scoring of the Fed Cup next weekend, then, the Davis Cup final, USA versus Spain from Seville!

04:04 Federer says: "It's an unbelievable end to a fantastic season for me. It started with the Australian Open and now I'm here. To come back from injury and to win this is amazing. I want to congratulate Lleyton on a fantastic season, unfortunately no major, but (laughing) he'll get better... thanks to the tournament staff, it's been a great event. Thank you to everyone for coming and suporting me.

04:02 Federer comes up to Collins to accept the trophy from Mark Miles, the Swiss doesn't give a speech... yet!

04:01 What's it like to play Roger Federer? "It's not been great this year, but i'll get back to the drawing board and hopefully get better results next year," Hewitt told Bud Collins.

04:00 Collins brings Lleyton Hewitt to the presentation party... "Thank you... firstly I'd like to congratulate Roger (the crowd cheers loudly) on a wonderful week this week. He has been the stand-out player the last year and a half. I would like to thank the staff here for the event they have put on. I really missed not qualifying last year. Thank you everyone for coming out to support. Thanks for my guys in the corner Roger (Rashed). Unfortunately I didn't get a major, but i'll be working hard for the Australian Open."

03:53 Hewitt looks shell-shocked as Bud Collins, the most famous tennis writers in the States, begins the presentations...

03:52 Fireworks and the song "Celebrations" blares out of the speakers as the trophy presentation party comes out onto court...

03:51 Roger Federer captures his 11th title of the season, including three majors of Australia, England and the United States... the victory proves to be his 23rd successive win over a Top 10 player and his prize money for the season edges $6 million!

03:50 Federer serving at 30-30... the crowd are silent... Hewitt senses the end... ACE... 40-30... CHAMPIONSHIP POINT for FEDERER... Hewitt returns a forehand out... GAME SET MATCH FEDERER 6-3 6-2 and he jumps up in delight having defended his title against the 2001 and 2002 champion!

03:48 Mark Miles, the ATP chief executive is shuffling into place at the side of the court...

03:46 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for FEDERER... Hewitt serving at 30-40... first serve kicked to the Swiss' backhand... long rally, ended cruelly for Hewitt by way of a forehand clipping the net and landing out... the crowd groan... FEDERER BREAKS for 5-2...

03:42 Oh so easy for the four-time major champion, Federer mixes up his service and attacks the net a couple of times in a hold to 15 for 4-2... Hewitt is decidedly flat this evening...

03:39 It all looked so rosey for Hewitt at 30-15, but FEDERER made his move and BROKE with a forehand winner to the delight of his girlfriend, watching courtside, who's already contemplating what to buy with the $1.5 million the Swiss will surely earn for the week's tennis...

03:34 Federer closes out to 15 for 2-2, as Billie Jean King and Guillermo Vilas look on from the VIP seats...

03:31 The opposing fans continue their strangled shouts... Hewitt closes out to 30 for 2-1, but you sense Federer is waiting for a half-chance to break... so far Hewitt has imposed a different game-plan, rallying with the world number one and not making himself a target by coming to the net...

03:27 Two different sets of supporters chant their favourite players name at the changeover, following a Federer hold to 30 for 1-1...

03:25 Hewitt gets a 15-30 lead on the Federer serve and pumps himself up with a couple of "C'mon" shouts...

03:23 Hewitt holds a confidence-boosting serve, but has plenty to do against Federer, who is striking the ball so cleanly... 1-0, second set

03:22 DOUBLE BREAK POINT for FEDERER... Hewitt serving at 15-40... ACE 30-40, much to the crowd's delight... ONE POINT for the SWISS... first delivery out, second deep to the backhand... Federer nets a forehand DEUCE!

03:17 DOUBLE SET POINT for FEDERER... the Swiss closes out a 33-minute FIRST SET 6-3 with an ACE his seventh so far... hitting 17 winners and 10 unforced errors to Hewitt's 5-5 respectively...

01:57 HEWITT 40-30 2-5... Rain begins to fall and the chair umpire has called the players to their bags... they quickly walk off to the locker-room...

01:53 No matter how many balls Hewitt scrambles up through sheer determination, Federer has the answer... the Swiss closes out for 5-2 and has seemingly saved his best performance for last, just as he did against Andre Agassi in the Masters Cup final of 2003!

01:49 Just like Marat Safin yesterday afternoon, Hewitt is having to hit within inches of the lines just to win the points... he eanrs warm applause for a hold on his fifth game point... 2-4

01:48 BREAK POINT for FEDERER... Hewitt serving at 30-40, playing the aggressive game but not making the most of his volleying... first serve into the net, second to the Swiss forehand... Federer encourages Hewitt to the net, but hits a forehand long of the baseline... DEUCE!

01:46 STATISTIC: Winners - Federer 11... Hewitt 1

01:43 Federer closes out to love for 4-1 and nothing in Hewitt's game tonight seems to be worrying the Swiss en route to his 11th title for the season...

01:42 Hewitt looks unsure under-foot and appears to be mis-timing his forehand shot... on several occasions the Aussie has been caught not closing down the net enough...

01:41 Hewitt's parents watch on, wrapped in their coats looking terrible cold... their 23-year-old son closes out to love for his first game!

01:36 Federer closes out to love silencing the 50 or so Australian fans to one side of the court... 3-0!

01:35 FEDERER takes his SECOND BREAK POINT with a forehand winner off a short Hewitt slice... the world number one is off to a flyer, can the Aussie fight back? 2-0

01:32 BREAK POINT for FEDERER... the Swiss reels in three successive points for the game opportunity... Hewitt serving at 30-40... long groundstroke rally ended with a backhand error wide of the tramline by Federer... deuce!

01:29 THE MASTERS CUP FINAL is NOW LIVE across the Eurosport television network available to viewers in 18 different languages! For those that wish to listen to English commentary from Simon Reed and Jason Goodall in Houston, click on the Live Audio link on the website's homepage!

01:28 The Swiss closes out the first game to 15, hitting four out of five first serves into court... already the cheers for Hewitt have begun...

01:26 Roger Federer, the Australian, Wimbledon and U.S. championship winner, gets the Masters Cup final underway, play!

01:24 One minute has been called by the umpire, Roger Federer won the toss and elected to serve... the evening is cool and calm...

01:22 "The Eye of the Tiger" is being played over the speakers now... will this give Hewitt the motivation to beat the undisputed number one, Federer? the PA announcer sure is building this final up like a heavyweight boxing bout!

01:19 The pair begin their five-minute warm-up in their best-of-three sets title match under the floodlights...

01:18 The pair come to the net for their 14th career meeting... all 7,500 seats have been taken for this match... no spectator has left the Westside Club...

01:17 ALERT: Lleyton Hewitt leads out Roger Federer onto centre court, two hours, 45 minutes after the scheduled start time!

01:15 HEAD-TO-HEAD: Lleyton Hewitt leads Roger Federer 7-6 in their career series, but the Swiss has won all four of their meetings in 2004... Australian Open 4R - 4-6 6-3 6-0 6-4; Hamburg Masters SF - 6-0 6-4; Wimbledon QF - 6-1 6-7 6-0 6-4; U.S. Open F - 6-0 7-6 6-0

Federer beats Hewitt

HOUSTON, Texas, Nov 21 AFP - World No.1 Roger Federer set an Open-era record by winning his 13th final in a row, defeating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3 6-2 here today to capture his second consecutive ATP Masters Cup crown.

Triple Grand Slam champion Federer's win streak in championship matches broke the mark he shared with John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg for consecutive finals triumphs, a streak that began last year at Vienna.

Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Federer captured his 11th title of the year. The 23-year-old Swiss star won $US1.52 million ($A1.94 million) and his 17th match victory in a row since a second-round exit at the Athens Olympics.

"It's just an unbelievable end to a fantastic season for me," Federer said.
The victory was Federer's 23rd consecutive triumph over a top-10 foe, a run that began with his unbeaten 2003 Cup title effort.

Federer matched Ivan Lendl's 1986-1987 feat of unbeaten runs to back-to-back titles at the event. He suffered a torn left thigh muscle left month but showed no sign of trouble in dominating his highest-rated rivals.

"I was injured and came back strong and was able to win this title," Federer said. "It's almost too much to ask for."

Third-ranked Australian Hewitt, the 2001 and 2002 Masters Cup winner, would have overtaken American Andy Roddick to finish second in the year-end rankings by taking his fifth title of 2004. He settled for $US700,000 ($A894,000) in defeat.

Federer beat the Australian for the sixth time in a row, all this year, and leads their career rivalry 8-7. He ousted Hewitt in the Australian Open fourth round, Wimbledon semi-finals and US Open final and won each Slam title.

"I'd like to congratulate Roger not only for winning the tournament but for the way he has played all year," Hewitt said.

"He has really cleaned me up this year. I'll go back to the drawing board and hopefully I can get him next year."

Rain delayed the start by three hours and prompted organisers to trim the final from a best-of-five sets to a best-of-three, the first time in 25 years such a format was used at the season-ending event.

Federer fired two aces to hold serve at love in the opening game and smacked a forehand winner past Hewitt for a break and a 2-0 lead. Federer led 5-2 with Hewitt serving ahead 40-30 when rain returned and halted play after 30 minutes.
Showers idled the players for 78 minutes before play resumed, Federer holding quickly to take the first set and winning the first three points of the second set to reach triple break point on the Aussie.

Hewitt captured five points in a row, rallying to hold serve, but was undone by a backhand winner from Federer on his next break point chance, one that gave Federer a 3-2 lead.
The Federer Express rolled on from there, inflicting another break for a 5-2 lead when Hewitt netted a forehand and concluding the match after 66 minutes on the court with a service winner.
Federer had 29 winners to only nine by Hewitt, who connected on only 51 percent of first serves compared to 64 percent for Federer.
 

 

Federer Caps Banner Year
 


Roger Federer proved himself the strongest force in tennis for the second year in succession as he defeated Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2 in a rain-hit final to win a second consecutive Tennis Masters Cup Sunday night.

The superlative Swiss ignored an interruption near the end of the first set on the way to his sixth defeat of the Australian this season.
 

Federer again won the trophy here undefeated and claimed a check of $1.52 million.

The winner of three of this year's four Grand Slams became the first repeat champion at the elite year-end event since Hewitt in 2001-2002.

"What can I say, this is an unbelievable end to a fantastic season," said the Swiss champion. "It started off at the Australian Open and just kept on coming.

"This is way too much to ask for, it's been fantastic."

Federer came to Houston with a thigh injury healing and a lack of matches. He completed Red group play undefeated and won his semi-final against Marat Safin in straight sets, a match which included the joint-longest tie-breaker (20-18) in tennis.

Federer, with 11 trophies this season, ended the year with a 17-match winning streak on the season and has won 13 straight finals. He also improved to 8-7 over Hewitt, having won all six of their meetings in 2004. He is 23-0 against Top 10 opponents.

Three of those victories against Hewitt have come in Grand Slams including a straight-sets defeat to win the U.S. Open. Federer also beat the Aussie this week in group play.

"Roger is the standout player of the last year and a half," said Hewitt. "He really deserves this title, he's a hell of a player. It was a goal of mine to get to Houston this year. At least we finished on line with this weather."

Federer stood two points from the first set as rain which had fallen all day returned.

The Swiss world No. 1 held a 5-2 lead over Hewitt as light drizzle morphed into more of the rain which had delayed the start of the title match by three hours and cut its intended length from the best of five to the best of three sets.

Federer had wasted no time in starting the match at the end of a long day's wait. He produced two aces in the opening game for 1-0, then put Hewitt under 0-30 pressure as the Aussie went to serve.

Hewitt managed to save one break point after a long rally but dropped serve on Federer's second chance as the superlative Swiss grabbed a 2-0 lead.

Federer, riding a 16-match win streak, made it a quick 3-0 with a love game. But the Hewitt resistance stiffened in the face of 11 winners for Federer and just one for the Aussie.

Hewitt held for the first time to get on the scoreboard, then kept in the chase even as the Swiss reached 4-1.
 

- Bill Scott

 

Match 4 semifinal

Hewitt Blitzes Roddick
 


Lleyton Hewitt won last 20 points of the match Saturday, reviving memories of his glory days at the Tennis Masters Cup as he produced a 6-3, 6-2 humiliation of Andy Roddick to reach a third career final at the year-end event.

Australia's Hewitt lifted the year-end honor with Masters Cup victories twice, at home in Sydney in 2001 and the next year in Shanghai

He now stands one victory away from a hat-trick of trophies, with a final Sunday against the winner from holder Roger Federer and Russian Marat Safin.

Hewitt was on fire against an off-the-boil Roddick, watched by his parents and thousands of Texas home supporters at the Westside tennis club.

Hewitt easily nullified the huge Roddick serve even as the American fired nine aces to run his record-setting 2004 total to 1017 for the season.

Hewitt used his superb return game to dominate against the frustrated local, who began basing himself in Austin several hours drive away, during 2003.

With clouds which had drenched the city with morning rain starting to clear, Hewitt wasted no time in storming into command against the man whom he has now beaten in four of five matches.

Seven first-set aces from Roddick - several to save break points - counted for little as Hewitt calmly cut off any attack form the disheartened American.

The Australian, currently third in the world but with a chance to pull past Roddick and take second behind Federer, profited from a dozen errors in the first set from the American, who lost at the semi-final stage here last year.

Hewitt completed the first set in 30 minutes and only got better as the second set began. Roddick committed 25 unforced errors, never had a chance at a winning volley and ended his ATP season on a low note. Hewitt struck 15 winners and committed a mere six errors.

Roddick came into the match with an ATP-best 74 match wins on the season and four titles from eight finals.
 

- Bill Scott

 

3rd match

Hewitt Reaches SFs
 


Lleyton Hewitt pounded out a punishing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Argentine Gaston Gaudio Friday to take a 2-1 Blue group record into the semifinals of the Tennis Masters Cup.

The Australian, who finished year-end world No. 1 in 2001 and 2002 at the season-ending event when it was played in Sydney and Shanghai, dominated in all phases of a rout which lasted for less than an hour.

 

Hewitt earned a spot Saturday against American Andy Roddick, already into the final four along with last year's undefeated holder Roger Federer.

Tim Henman and Marat Safin were facing off later with the winner to take on the dominating Swiss, winner of three of this year's four Grand Slams.

Hewitt displayed huge doses of his trademark fighting spirit during the trouncing of Gaudio, who won the Roland Garros title in a surprise on the clay.

Hewitt announced his winning intentions with two aces in the opening game, then secured breaks of the South American in the fourth and eighth games to claim the first set in 32 minutes.

The second took even less time, as Gaudio looked to be troubled by an existing groin problem. Hewitt took full advantage as he leveled his career record in the series to three wins apiece.

The 23-year-old ran off a stretch of five straight games out to 3-0 in the second set, and thrilled a sellout crowd at the Westside tennis club with a scampering, hustling performance of ball-chasing which paid off for 30-all on the way to a 5-1 lead.

That break of the Gaudio signaled the end for the fading Argentine, with Hewitt serving out victory a game later on the second of three match points, a backhand wide off the South American's racket.

The victory for Hewitt marked the fourth meeting between the pair this season, with the Argentine winning their last two (on clay).

Their last showdown came in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, with Gaudio taking victory en route to the title. Their only other hard court match came in the second round of Miami four years ago, with Hewitt winning.

The Australian has now reached the semifinals in the Tennis Masters Cup for the third time in four appearances.

Hewitt said: "I think I'm motivated at the moment. Obviously, when you're motivated out there and you're driven - especially with my style of game, I like to play with a lot of emotion out there - it's pretty easy, it just sort of happens naturally right at the moment.

"I haven't really played a lot of tennis, but to come out here and know you have to play your best tennis straight-up against every opponent because you're playing the best guys in the world, I think I've handled that situation pretty well.

Roddick to face Hewitt in semifinals of Tennis Masters Cup

November 19, 2004

HOUSTON (Ticker) - Second-seeded Andy Roddick continued his roll through the Tennis Masters Cup field Friday and set up an intriguing semifinal.

Roddick bested Argentina's Guillermo Coria, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 and will meet third-seeded Lleyton Hewitt at the year-end $3.7 million Tennis Masters Cup.

The win improved Roddick's record to 3-0 in the round-robin tournament and to 74-15 this season. He is the only player in the tournament who has yet to drop a set.

Roddick will finish the season ranked second unless Hewitt wins the title here, a scenario Roddick can avoid by winning their semifinal matchup this weekend.

Hewitt posted a convincing 6-2, 6-1 triumph over French Open champion Gaston Gaudio of Argentina on Friday afternoon. The Australian needed just 59 minutes to dispatch Gaudio and advance to his third semifinal in four appearances here.

Tim Henman and Marat Safin will battle for the final semifinal spot when they square off Friday evening. Henman and Safin have split four all-time meetings, with Henman winning the most recent in 2002.

Both Henman and Safin have split their first two matches in Blue Group play, having defeated Coria and lost to Roddick. The winner will face top-seeded Roger Federer of Switzerland in the semifinals.

Federer has won each of his first three matches here. He clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking after defeating Hewitt in the U.S. Open final in September.

Qualification for this tournament went to the top eight players in the 2004 ATP standings, unless a player won a Grand Slam during the year but finished between ninth and 20th. That was the case this year as Gaudio gained entry at the expense of eighth-ranked American Andre Agassi.

 

 

2nd Match

Federer waits out rain, beats Hewitt
By MICHAEL A. LUTZ, AP Sports Writer
 November 18, 2004

 

 

HOUSTON (AP) -- Roger Federer was at his best after midnight. Too bad hardly anyone was there to see it.

With less than 500 fans remaining in the stands after a deflating day of rain delays, Federer made several clutch shots to hold off Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the ATP Masters Cup Championships on Wednesday night.

``There was only so much crowd left. It was kind of a very strange and awkward feeling,'' Federer said. ``We're not too used to that, especially me since I've been playing center court basically every match since I've become No. 1.''

Carlos Moya had to sit through a rain delay of nearly eight hours before beating Gaston Gaudio 6-3, 6-4 in an earlier second-round match.

Federer was leading 4-2 in the second set when showers again halted play, this time for an hour. After play resumed, the Swiss star closed it out on the first match point with an overhead, beating Hewitt for the fifth straight time in a match that ended just before 1 a.m. Thursday.

``There were some good rallies,'' Federer said. ``That was a good game, that last one. I've had trouble against him serving matches out.''

Federer, who improved to 7-7 in his career against Hewitt, has a 2-0 record in the Red Group of the round-robin format. Hewitt dropped to 1-1. The four players with the best round-robin records from the two groups will play in Saturday's semifinals. The winners will meet Sunday for the championship.

 

 

Federer got the first break in the fourth game of the opening set with a backhand crosscourt passing shot. Then he had to stave off two break points in the fifth game to hold his serve. After the second deuce, Federer hit an ace and a backhand winner.

He took quick control of the second set, getting double break point on Hewitt and winning the game on the Australian's backhand error.

Federer was serving as sprinkles started to fall in the sixth game. He held at love, but the match was stopped before Hewitt had a chance to serve in the seventh game.

``It was difficult, especially because I was so close to winning the match and because you never know,'' Federer said.

Moya and Gaudio had to sit through persistent rain, thunderstorms and a tornado alert. Light rain pelted the court as the match ended.

Moya was shaky with his serve in the first set, staving off three break points in the first game and two more in the fifth before he broke Gaudio in the sixth on the Argentine's forehand error.

``It was very important because I wasn't playing very well at the beginning,'' Moya said. ``Then, I could hold my serve and right after that I broke his serve. Then I started to play better.''

The Spaniard went up a break in the fifth game of the second set, but Gaudio broke back in the sixth on Moya's forehand error.

Moya took control in the ninth game, breaking Gaudio when his forehand sailed long. Gaudio smashed his racket on the court after the point.

On the first match point, Moya drove a forehand deep to the line, catching Gaudio sliding in the other direction. The victory gave Moya a 2-1 record in the Red Group. Gaudio dropped to 0-2.

 

Federer Signs Up for Late-Night Duty

By Bill Scott

The weather nearly caught Roger Federer out on the cusp of victory Wednesday night as rain returned to Houston.

But the Swiss waited out a one-hour rain interruption to consolidate a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lleyton Hewitt at the Tennis Masters Cup, booking into the semi-finals at just before 1 a.m. Thursday morning.

World No. 1 Federer stood a comfortable 6-3, 4-2 against the Australian in their Red group match when rain which had delayed the start of Day 3 play by eight hours, started to fall again.

With Hewitt poised to serve, the weather forced players to instead wrap up on towels on the sidelines as officials debated whether to wait it out or end the day as midnight approached.

The pair finally went into the locker room, with
the decision later made to soldier on. "My forehand
was working great and I wasn't broken," said the winner, who finished up well into Thursday. "That was the key today.

"This was one of the better matches of the whole event, that's why we waited a long time on court. Once you go into locker room a lot of fans leave. "If you stay on court they stay there and the chances to resume play are much bigger."

Federer, confirmed weeks ago as year-end world No. 1, claimed his 20th consecutive victory over a Top 10 opponent. He stands 71-6 this season with ten titles including three of the four Grand Slams.

The pair last met in the U.S. Open final, where Federer won his fourth match in a row over the Australian former world No. 1.

Federer won the first set with one break in 34 minutes and got up again against Hewitt early in the second. The Swiss struck 26 winners and held off three break points.

Hewitt put up his best fight in the last three games following the one-hour break for weather.

"When you come out in a rain delay down a set and a break against such a great player, you don’t have that many opportunities.

"I wasn't quite able to take mine and you have to take those chances against the great players."

1st match

Hewitt rallies past Moya in Masters Cup

By MICHAEL A. LUTZ, AP Sports Writer
November 16, 2004

HOUSTON (AP) -- Lleyton Hewitt let the first set slip away after an overnight rain delay. He wasn't about to allow the trend to continue.

Hewitt came back from a first set lag to beat Carlos Moya 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 in a first-round match at the ATP Masters Cup Championships on Tuesday.

In a later match, Marat Safin of Russia needed just one hour to beat Guillermo Coria of Argentina, 6-1, 6-4. Coria played his first match in over three months after surgery on his right shoulder. Second-seeded

Andy Roddick was to meet Tim Henman in the night's featured match.

``Obviously I had a set point in that first set and things just didn't go my way,'' Hewitt said. ``I tried at the start of the second set to get myself back in the match and in the third set I was having a lot of chances out there again but I was always playing behind.''

Hewitt took a 5-4 lead and was ahead 30-0 on Moya's serve in the 10th game when play was suspended late Monday night, after it had started following a delay of over 3 1/2 hours.

When play resumed, Hewitt couldn't break in the 10th game even though he had a set point, allowing Moya to escape and win the tiebreaker with an overhead on the first set point.


Hewitt took charge of the second set with breaks in the first and third games.

The players were on serve in the third set until Hewitt broke in the seventh game. He ran down a shot by Moya and then smashed a forehand down the line to bring the game to break point and then Moya hit a forehand error to give the lead to Hewitt.

``I came up with a couple of huge passes when I needed to in that game to break,'' Hewitt said. ``To win a point like that to set up the break point, that was a huge mental swing in the match. He thought he had the point won at one stage and I came back and turned it around. It was definitely a turning point in the third set.''

Moya escaped one match point in the final game for deuce but an overhead winner by Hewitt and forehand error by Moya ended the match.

``He served very well, I had no chance for a break,'' Moya said. ``That's the only part of my game I'm not happy about. The rest I was pleased. There were just a few key points and I didn't win them. It was a close match.

``If you play a guy like Lleyton you have to take advantage of your chances.''

The victory allowed Hewitt to take a 6-5 series lead against Moya, although the Aussie has won the last four meetings, including in the finals at Sydney in January.

Hewitt played in his fourth Masters Cup in five years with back-to-back titles in 2001-2002.

Moya and Gaston Gaudio are tied for the ATP lead with 31 victories on clay. Moya also has a 22-8 record on hard court. He's the only player this year with at least 20 victories on both clay and hard courts.

Hewitt Digs Deep
Lleyton Hewitt turned up the heat on Andy Roddick in the battle for year-end No.2 when he rallied from a set down to defeat Spaniard Carlos Moya 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 at Tennis Masters Cup Houston on Tuesday.
The battle between the pair of former world No. 1 players only concluded after an overnight pause due to rain. Hewitt stood two points from the first set when rain prevented further play Monday night.
The Aussie came back out a day later only to drop the set, putting himself into position to fight through in a contest lasting two-and-a-quarter hours on the outdoor hard court.
The Australian produced 15 aces while never facing a break point. Moya, playing for the first time in two months due to a shoulder injury, couldn't get past an inspired Hewitt, locked in a battle with Andy Roddick and Marat Safin for the No. 2 spot this season.
The Australian notched 39 winners - some punctuated by his trademark "c'mon" - while converting on three of 11 break points.
Hewitt has now won his past four matches against Moya, standing 6-5 in their series. The Aussie improved to 66 wins, 16 losses as the season wraps up.

Hewitt took control of the match as he broke for 4-3 in the final set with a winner down the line. Two games later, Moya fought off a match point but couldn't hold off the hard-charging Aussie as Hewitt triumphed on his second chance.

- Bill Scott

Two-Time Cup Winner Hewitt Back in Houston Nov 12

The youngest player to ever reach No. 1, Lleyton Hewitt heads to Houston this year looking to get to No. 2. He's third behind Andy Roddick, but has the American in his sights as the Aussie looks to win his third career Tennis Masters Cup. The title would likely push him past Roddick and into second.

Here's a closer look at Hewitt's 2004 season:

T he 23-year-old Aussie returned to the Top 3 in the INDESIT ATP Race by capturing four ATP titles in six finals and reaching QF or better in three of four Grand Slam tournaments.

All four of his Grand Slam losses came to eventual champion, including three to No. 1 Federer at Australian Open (4th RD), Wimbledon (QF) and US Open (F)…He also lost to Gaudio in QF at Roland Garros.

He is first player to lose to eventual champion in all four Grand Slams in same year since Ivan Lendl in 1983.

Only player in Top 10 during year not to lose an opening round match in 18 tournaments.

The two-time Tennis Masters Cup champion and two-time No. 1 (in '01-02) began season by capturing his 20th career title in Sydney (d. Moya).

One month later, posted impressive wins over Schuettler (QF), Henman (SF) and Ferrero (F) in Rotterdam to win his first European indoor title and jump off to a 14-1 start in first two months.

Played well on clay by reaching SF at AMS Hamburg (l. to Federer), helping his country to final of ATP World Team Championship in Dusseldorf and advancing to QF at Roland Garros.

On grass, reached SF at Queen's (l. to Roddick) and QF at Wimbledon.

During summer hard court circuit, compiled a 16-match winning streak (second-longest of career) with titles in Washington (d. Muller) and Long Island (d. Horna) before losing to Federer again in US Open final…Prior to streak, also reached final at AMS Cincinnati (l. to Agassi).

In October, returned to circuit and lost to eventual champion Novak in SF in Tokyo.

Appearing in his fourth career Tennis Masters Cup (10-3 record).

Ranks No. 6 in aces (484) and on course to record 500 for second time in three years (536 in '02).