Safin hammers Hewitt in Paris Nov 5
Australian tennis player Lleyton Hewitt has been knocked out of the Paris Masters by Russian sixth seed Marat Safin 4-6 6(2)-7 .

Safin put down the battling challenge of the Australian second seed to reach the semi-finals of the $A4.16 million tournament and stay on course for his third title in Paris.

Safin, the winner in 2000 and 2002 and a runner-up in 1999, now faces a semi-final clash with Argentina's 13th seed Guillermo Canas, who reached his seventh semi-final of the season with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Spain's Feliciano Lopez.

"It's been a long time since I played that well," Safin said.

"I really enjoyed it tonight and I hope to keep playing like this until the end of the season.

"But having to play someone like Lleyton automatically helps you play better. You have to focus and play well in all aspects of the game."

Should Safin reach and win the final, he will become only the second player after Boris Becker to win the Paris title three times.

And Hewitt believes Safin, the highest seed left in the event, is the clear favourite to lift the title.

"I felt I was striking the ball really well and it was a big step up compared to my other matches here, but that was the best I have seen him play in a long time," said the Australian who lost to Safin in the 2002 final.

"I can't see too many players left in the draw who can beat him. He's a clean hitter, he has the big serve, covers the court well and stays low. That's Marat."

Safin's win, in one hour and 40 minutes was achieved in dramatic circumstances.

He squandered a match point in the 10th game of the second set and then had to stave off two break points in the 12th to prompt the crucial tie-break

Safin broke in the fifth game of the first set and then battled back from 0-30 down in the crucial 10th game with two huge, fiercely driven forehands which led to set point which he converted when Hewitt hit a forehand long.

The 24-year-old Russian, who won the Madrid Masters title last month, then broke in the fifth game of the second set in a manner which summed up his determination.

Hewitt had caught the top of the net with a return which bobbled awkwardly over onto Safin's side, but the Russian recovered his poise to sprint to the ball and won the point with a gentle cross-court forehand dab.

However, the nerves crept in when he wasted a match point at 5-4 to let Hewitt back in and the Australian then held for 6-5 and even had two points in the next game to go into a deciding set

But Safin recovered his composure with two crunching backhands and a Hewitt double fault giving him the impetus in the tie break as he went on to book his place in his seventh semi-final of 2004.

Eurosport.com

Lleyton Hewitt def. Gael Monfils 6-3, 7-6
BNP Paribas Masters
Nov 2, 2004

(read play by play from the bottom up)

21:09 But we'll hear about Monfils in the coming years that's for sure

21:08 Game set and match Hewitt: 6-3 7-6: Just a tiny mistake by Monfils in the tie-break made the difference

21:08 Winning return Hewitt: 6-3 Match point

21:07 Mini break Hewitt, unforced error Monfils:5-3

21:05 Ace Hewitt: 4-3

21:05 Double fault Hewitt: 3-3

21:03 Long rally in favor of Hewitt: 3-2

21:02 A close call , Hewitt breaks back: 2-2

21:01 2-1 Monfils mini break:*

20:59 It's a tie-break! What a moment in perspective

20:44 Monfils is a real tiger! Fights as Hewitt does so the match is electric!

20:31 Point of the tournament won by Hewitt, 6 exchanges at the net by both players ... At the end Hewitt takes it.... Monfils then fires two aces and takes the lead for the first time in the match! Amazing game

20:28 Monfils breaks back again! Amazing, Hewitt had the lead but was unable to capitalise rushing too much... The crowd is clearly behind Monfils and has a bad behaviour toward Hewitt

20:22 Monfils managed to find a way to close the gap o 2-3

20:22 This 5th game has been lasting 10 minutes, it's back to deuce for the 6th time

20:17 Monfils is the one running the most, he begins to be a little tired

20:10 Hewitt confirms his break leading 3-1 in the third set ... The difference is made by Hewitt who is returning and serving better at key points

20:06 Third break in a row in this second set! Hewitt got three great pick ups on the net

19:59 Once again Monfils shows his fighting skills breaking back with stunning forehand winners

19:55 Things are accelerating for Hewitt, 4th game in a row and third break for the Aussie

19:49 Hewitt captures the first set 6-3! It was close until Hewitt found more strength with his shots

19:48 Hewitt breaks for the second time returning with deep acuracy

19:43 Hewitt leads but was threaten to deuce on his serve... The Aussie takes time to find his rythmn

19:34 Hewitt too careless, Hewitt back at 2-2! Great effort from the 18-year old

19:32 Monfils is serving much better than yesterday and has a chance to level back

19:29 Hewitt a little tentative thought everything was under control but his lack of first serve allow Monfils to break back

19:23 Hewitt breaks in this second game

19:21 It's going to be very difficult for Monfils to edge Hewitt... The Aussie has a very good return while The French has a weak serve so Hewitt will take every opportunity to break

19:12 Both players have never met before and Hewitt hasn't had an official match in three weeks

19:11 Monfils is ranked 284 in the world and plays his first Masters-Series event ... Yesterday the 18-year old beat 1996 champion Thomas Enqvist

19:11 Coming up: Hewitt v Monfils

Here's a report from Kate Flory in Paris

Lleyton secured the first set with a cheap point on his serve. Throughout the
set his unforced error count was quite high at 16, hitting only 6 winners.
But he secured the set with 2 breaks of serve.
In the second set the French Crowd were very much in support of Monfils, who
looks to be a very exciting future prospect. It was a terrific atmosphere
though, with a band there!
The two players exchanged breaks in the second set, and Lleyton should have
gone a double break up at 3-1. But Monfils fought hard and broke Lleyton
back. The two players were then in a dog fight and with the crowd roaring. It
went into a tiebreak. After going a mini break down, Lleyton recovered and
as Monfils hit 2 unforced errors, Lleyton was up with match point. He
took his first as Monfils put a forehand in the net and two big fist pumps to
the floor showed the Aussies delight!
After the match Lleyton said it had been very tough, and that Monfils knew
how to handle pressure. He hit with him once last week at Roland Garros
(which Monfils pointed out that he won 6-2!). Lleyton said thet he hoped to
get better and better and that he would like to lift the silver ware both
here and in Houston.

 

A heavy heart can't weigh down Hewitt

By BRUCE WILSON in Paris

November 4, 2004

IN boxing terms he was a little ring-rusty and he had a kid with a long reach and a friendly crowd up against him.


Still, the old pro of 23 finally had too much guile for the 18-year-old upstart, and Lleyton Hewitt survived.

He beat the immensely promising Gael Monfils 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in just short of two hours of intense and often brilliant tennis in a second-round match in the Paris Masters tournament.


If the Australian was carrying a heavy heart, it seemed not to slow him down.


Monfils had his hometown crowd of more than 3000 raucously behind him.


Two slightly forlorn Australian flags in the cavernous indoor arena at Bercy, in east Paris, measured the level of support for Hewitt.


Yet the match was so engrossing that the spirit of the crowd was with the tennis rather than the players.


"Rusty" is Hewitt's nickname to his close supporters, and there were signs the turmoil of his private life and a lay-off of a few weeks had taken some toll and that the tag was all too accurate.


Later he said concentration was the problem.


So, too, was Monfils who steadfastly refused to go quietly, and the two exchanged furious rallies, some of great power and skill.


Indeed, had Monfils been able to control his youthful desire to whack the cover off everything he might well have won this.


Three times rallies ended with the gangly Frenchman sprawled full-length on the court, but he was never down for the count.


No one who was there will forget one exchange, later counted at 50 shots, that started on the baseline and ended at the net, and which included a kind of manual of tennis shots from overheads to half-volleys.


Hewitt finally won it with a passing volley as the two stared seemingly eyeball-to-eyeball at the net.


Later Hewitt said: "Yeah it was a good point, it felt like neither of us could put the bloody ball away."


He is famous for remembering just about every shot he's ever played, and he said ruefully: "Then I got aced the next three points."


There were few hints of the dramas to come when Hewitt won the first set fairly routinely in 37 minutes.


Monfils, though, showed he had come to play by refusing to be cowed after dropping his opening service game on a disputed double fault.


He broke Hewitt right back in a game that lasted 10 minutes and four deuces – a pattern repeated in the prolonged and tense second set that went for 78 minutes.


Four of the opening six games were service breaks – two apiece.


Hewitt seemed to have put an end to the upstart opposite when he went out to 3-1 and had three chances to make it 4-1 on Monfils' serve.


There were eight deuces in the game before Monfils finally won it with an ace. "I felt like I could have easily been 6-3 6-2 out there, but in the end you got in a bit of a second-set dogfight," Hewitt said later.


Just so, because Monfils – with the crowd now noisily and passionately behind him – promptly broke Hewitt right back for 3-3.


From then on, nobody had a break point until 6-6 and the tie-break, when Hewitt showed that Monfils had got to his nervous system by serving a double-fault, just about a capital offence in a tie-break.


In fact, though, it was Monfils who cracked. From leading 2-1 he was able to gather only one more point.


Three times, trying for the winner, he hit long and Hewitt needed only one of his three match points to finish it.


Hewitt is playing this tournament with little at stake.


He has already qualified for the Masters Cup final starting in Houston, Texas, on November 13.

Heartbreaker Hewitt
Fox Sports
From correspondents in Paris
November 3, 2004

LLEYTON HEWITT returned to the court for the first time since his breakup with Kim Clijsters today and broke the hearts of French fans.

The third seed defeated French teenager Gael Monfils 6-3 7-6 (7-3), dismantling the breathtaking game of the world junior No.1 who for the second successive night belied his humble world ranking of 248.

But Hewitt left most of his talking on the court, refusing to answer questions about the split with Clijsters.

One reporter tried to coax the world No.3 into describing how that emotional turmoil translated itself into his professional career, but Hewitt was having none of it.

"I've got no comment, mate," fired back Hewitt.

"That was a legitimate tennis question. I don't want to pry," pleaded the reporter but Hewitt, never comfortable discussing his private life at the best of times, was not in the mood for a cosy chat.

But he was happy to put the tennis world to rights after organisers of the tournament here believed they had been wronged by five of the world's top 10 – Roger Federer and Andre Agassi amongst them – deciding to give the event a miss.

"I was in the same situation last year. I was preparing for the Davis Cup final in Australia on grass," said Hewitt.

"I needed a break and I needed to prepare best for the final. The ITF and the ATP need to work together a lot more. It's tough to keep backing it up and stay injury-free.

"We have to have a longer break at the end of the season. I know a lot of people blame the surface at the Australian Open for injuries and pull-outs but I know for a fact that there aren't enough guys who are fit enough going into the Australian Open.

"They need time off in December. To come down to Australia and play in 35 degrees, day in, day out, that's not the easiest thing to do."

Hewitt admits the solutions aren't easy.

"Don't ask me how we are going to do it with all the tournaments because people are going get to pissed off," added Hewitt.

"I have been saying that the Davis Cup could be played every two years or the two finalists get a bye the following year."

Hewitt has already made it through to the Masters Cup later this month but it's that elusive Australian Open title which still dominates his thoughts.

"Houston is a little bit different this year compared to Masters Cup in the past when I had the opportunity to be number one at the end of the year.

"I will enjoy it a lot more because there is less pressure. But the biggest thing coming up is the Australian Open.

"Everything now is working towards that. It would be great to hold up the silverware here and in Houston but I would prefer to win it in January."

Of Monfils, he said: "He had nothing to lose and for him to have won so many Grand Slam titles as a junior proves he can handle pressure.

"He's going to be a very good player in the future and I knew it was going to be tough," added Hewitt, who has not lost a match indoors this year.

Hewitt, with his all-round cussedness and in-your-face game firing on all cylinders, put down the teenager's rebellion to make the third round.

He broke early to lead 2-0 before Monfils hit back in the third.

With fists pumping, he went to 5-3 and secured the first set after 38 minutes when Monfils went wide with a backhand return.

Hewitt edged ahead again in the second set only to be pegged back by a succession of three whopping, pinpoint forehands that were flat and low and had him scampering to the corners.

That only served to fire up Hewitt who broke again to lead 2-1 but, backed by a huge crowd, the teenager refused to buckle and fought back to save five break points in the fifth game before breaking back to level 3-3.

But Hewitt's experience told in the tiebreak as Monfils played two sloppy forehands to hand the Australian the tie after a hugely entertaining 1hr 55min.

Meanwhile, Spain's Feliciano Lopez beat Rainer Schuettler of Germany 7-6 (7-3) 6-3, Russia's Nikolay Davydenko cruised past Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-2 6-3 while qualifier Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic defeated France's Michael Llodra 7-6 (7-2) 6-1.

Last year's runner-up, Andrei Pavel, the 11th seed from Romania, beat America's Mardy Fish 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 while Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic defeated France's Arnaud Clement 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

His reward is a second round clash with Russian sixth seed Marat Safin, champion here in 2000 and 2002.

Also progressing to the third round was Tommy Haas, the 18th seeded German, who eliminated Belgium's Xaiver Malisse 6-1 7-6 (7-1).

Agence France-Presse


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Roddick Says Schedule Provokes Player Withdrawals

By Richard Pagliaro
Tennis Week
11/02/2004

European Masters Series officials are meeting in Paris today to discuss initiatives that would reduce player withdrawals. Second-ranked Andy Roddick suggests cutting the calendar rather than convening committees is a more sensible solution to promote player participation.

Trying to keep pace with a demanding schedule that sends players scurrying around the globe on a tennis treadmill is not only an exercise in futility, it puts players at risk of injury and burnout, Roddick asserts.

"In what other sport do you play 11 months of the year?" the 2003 U.S. Open champion told the French sports daily L'Equipe. "I am going to finish my season on December 5 and start next year on January 5. I would rather pull out of an event than injure myself. If they can't understand the way an athlete works, it's too bad."

Tournament organizers counter that players are essentially short-changing those who pay their prize money — tournaments, tournament sponsors, the ticket-buying public and networks buying tournament television rights fees — and devalue the events with late withdrawals.

Several top-10 players — top-ranked Roger Federer, Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt, Guillermo Coria and Carlos Moya — withdrew from last month's Tennis Masters Series-Madrid event. BNP Paribas Masters officials were deeply disappointed when high-profile players Andre Agassi, David Nalbandian, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Federer, Moya and Coria pulled out of Paris citing injuries. Some Masters events launch promotional campaigns featuring prominent players months in advance and charge the late player pull-outs reflect poorly on the tournaments that are left in the lurch when late withdrawals deplete draws of the game's most popular names.

Though top players are automatically entered in Masters Series events, players have complained for years that the tennis season is too long and since the game's governing bodies have essentially refused to substantially shorten the schedule (though there have been minor modifications) some prominent players have taken it upon themselves to limit the number of tournaments they play to provide more time for rest and recovery. Roddick has already played 84 matches this year (91 when you include doubles), which is just seven short of the 91 matches he played in 2003.

The physical demands of playing a global game nearly year round dictate adopting shorter schedule, but Roddick suggests a schedule revision is about as likely as the 2003 U.S. Open champion adopting an underhanded serve.

"There are things that should be changed but they will never happen," Roddick told L'Equipe. "Too many people are involved in the decision process. They will never all agree because they all want a slice of the cake."

Madrid tournament promoter and former player Ion Tiriac charges players want to have their cake and eat it too and argues that approach leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many tournament organizers. Tiriac advocates penalizing players' prize money, ranking points and prohibiting them from competing in the season-ending Masters Cup for repeatedly pulling out of Masters Series events.

"If he doesn't play one of the nine Masters Series tournaments, take away a quarter of his ranking points," Tiriac said. "If he doesn't play two, it's too bad, he cannot play the Masters Cup, nothing else."

UPDATE 1-Henman, Hewitt advance into Paris third round
Tue November 02, 2004 04:56 PM ET


By Francois Thomazeau

PARIS, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Holder Tim Henman launched his Paris Masters defence in style with a smooth 6-3 6-4 victory over Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Briton, thrilled at the prospect of playing his first Masters Cup next week in Houston, put paid to the challenge of the Asian number one in just over an hour.

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, back in action after a three-week break, held off a strong fightback by French sensation Gael Monfils 6-3 7-6.

Henman, who won the Parisian indoors tournament much to his own surprise last year, next faces a tricky third-round match against an in-form opponent.

The Briton will meet either 16th seed Jiri Novak, winner in Basel last week, or Russian Mikhail Youzhny, who triumphed at home in St Petersbug on Sunday.

A break in the eighth game of the first set was enough for Henman to take the upper hand. Srichaphan put up a little more resistance in the second set before losing his serve in the penultimate game.

With the season-ending Masters Cup starting straight after the Paris final and all spots in Houston already awarded, Henman and Hewitt said they wanted to make the most of the last two weeks of a long season.


GOOD PREPARATION

"This is a good preparation for Houston," said Hewitt, the second seed in Paris.

The Australian added that not having to fight for the world number one spot next week -- Swiss Roger Federer having already secured that mantle -- would make the Masters Cup less stressful.

"I'll probably enjoy it a little bit more," he added.

He had to dig deep in the second set against Monfils, however, before he put paid to the junior world number one's late resistance.

Hewitt, a losing finalist at Bercy two years ago, appeared to be on track for a smooth passage as he swept through the first set in the Parisian sports hall.

But the 18-year-old Monfils, winner of three of the four grand slam tournaments in the junior ranks last season, showcased his rich potential with much stiffer opposition in the second set.

Hewitt, boosted by his own strong start to the match, took a 3-1 lead in the second set and had four break points in the next game which he failed to convert.


HELD SERVE

Monfils, who beat former Australian Open runner-up Thomas Enqvist in the opening round, held serve and then broke his opponent to level at 3-3 before taking the former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion into a tie-break.

Hewitt, unusually jittery at times, made nine double faults overall but finally imposed his power and pace to wrap up the match in one hour and 55 minutes.

"He had nothing to lose and for him to have won so many grand slam titles as a junior proves he can handle pressure," said the Australian, who is bidding for his fifth title of the season in Paris.

"He has a lot of talent and he's flashy, like most of the French players," added Hewitt, who has not lost a match indoors this year.

The towering Monfils was making his Masters Series debut after reaching the quarter-finals in his first ATP Tour event last month in Metz.

All four seeds in action on Tuesday advanced into the third round.

Germany's Tommy Haas, the 18th seed, beat Belgium's Xavier Malisse 6-1 7-6 and 11th-seed Andrei Pavel of Romania moved past American Mardy Fish 7-6 6-4.

Taboo topic in city of love
By Bruce Wilson in Paris
November 2, 2004

LLEYTON HEWITT, allegedly devastated by his failed romance, made his first public appearance here last night determinedly upbeat, speaking of new challenges -but saying nothing of his personal life.

Hewitt spoke exclusively to The Daily Telegraph in his first interview since his break-up with former fiancee, Belgian Kim Clijsters.

It was with the firm stipulation that the subject was tennis - there were to be no questions about his private life or his failed betrothal.

Hewitt, 23, is playing in his first tournament since he apparently was jilted by Clijsters, thus ending the fairytale wedding plans f tennis's brightest young couple.

Clijsters remains in seclusion in her small home town of Bree, in Belgium, just a few hours' drive from Paris.

If Hewitt is heartbroken, he has a good line in not showing it.

The Australian appeared through the dank Paris mist and drizzle with Briton Tim Henman on a brief publicity shoot for the Paris Masters which started yesterday and in which Hewitt is second seed.

A net was run up in the gracious Trocadero riverside venue of museums and art galleries and Henman and Hewitt chatted amiably about tennis tournaments while they batted a ball about. The Eiffel Tower loomed in the fog behind them and the Seine flowed sedately at their feet.

Hewitt was almost jaunty as he happily posed for silly pictures with excited tourists, who were taken aback at finding two of the world's top tennis players in their midst.

Hewitt brushed aside some well-meaning questions from two of them wanting to know how he was feeling. "OK, all right," he said.

It was possible, though, to see in Hewitt a man determined to put his best foot forward.

He spoke about the excitement he felt in playing not just this Masters title - which has been undercut by the late withdrawals of Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya and David Nalbandian - but in the Masters Cup, the final of the series starting in Houston, Texas, on November 13.

Hewitt is no fool, and he knows the microscope of the tennis world will be on him in what he himself described as "a very important few weeks" leading to "new challenges".

In fact, he can afford a poor tournament in Paris since he is already a guaranteed qualifier for Houston.

But this is a $US3.1million tournament, and Hewitt will be all too aware that a bad showing here is bound to be linked to his setbacks on the romance front.

"It's very important these few weeks just to go out there and play against the best players in the world and see where your game's at," he said.

The Daily Telegraph
 

Hewitt hits Paris keen to keep the focus on his game