Lleyton Hewitt proud of himself for hanging in there and eventually getting past Ivo Karlovic's service barrage
Lleyton Hewitt proud of himself for hanging in there and eventually getting past Ivo Karlovic's service barrageLleyton Hewitt withstood a serving masterclass by 26th seed Ivo Karlovic to hit back from two sets down and claim an epic first-round win on the opening day of the French Open yesterday.
The 6ft 10in tall Croatian, powered down 55 aces believed to be a record for a singles match in the Open era on Court One but still somehow lost.
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Tough one: Australia's Lleyton Hewitt celebrates his marathon five-setter win over Croatia's Ivo Karlovic at the French Open inu00a0 Roland Garros, Paris yesterday. |
The never-say-die spirit of Hewitt, the former world No 1 who is on an upward spiral after an injury-hit 2008, was in evidence as he posted a four-hour 6-7 (1), 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4) 6-4 6-3 victory to stay on course for a possible third-round meeting with top seed Rafael Nadal.
Hewitt said: "It's more of a mental battle to come back from two sets after you lose them in breakers. You have to hang in there and be prepared to go the distance. That's what I'm proud of today."
Hewitt, who won from two sets down for the fifth time in his career, admitted he was often left helpless by Karlovic's monster serve, adding: "It's frustrating but you have to put it aside.
"You know it's going to happen when you go out on court."
Hewitt, currently ranked 50 in the world, takes on Andrey Golubev of Kazakhstan next.
Third seed Andy Murray routed Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 6-2, 6-1, while eighth seed Fernando Verdasco wasted little time in brushing aside Florent Serra in straight sets to reach the second round.
The Spaniard was in impressive form as he won 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Earlier, Marat Safin, the 20th seed, launched his final Roland Garros campaign with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Alexandre Sidorenko.
Croatia's Marin Cilic, the 13th seed, lost only seven games as he cruised past Jan Hernych
6-0, 6-4, 6-3.
