Fuente: © US Open (Tennis)
http://www.usopen.org/

US OPEN: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! Oy, Oy, Oy!

/noticias.info/ by Stephanie Norris
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

In a first round match that took place over the course of two days, No. 15 Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) defeated Albert Montanes (ESP) in straight sets; 7-5, 6-4, 6-3.


Tuesday, Day 2 of the US Open, was characterized by rain, rain and more rain. Slambonis replaced players on the courts and by early evening, all matches had been cancelled. During a brief rain-free period, however, Hewitt and Montanes took the court in Louis Armstrong Stadium and attempted to get the match underway at 2:45pm, almost three hours after the scheduled start time. A slow clap from the eager crowd accompanied the men out onto the court, elevating the atmosphere and giving the first round match a tone more familiar to that of a US Open finale. Hewitt smiled as he glanced upwards towards the upper level of the stadium where a group of rambunctious supporters chanted "Aussie, Aussie Aussie! Oy, Oy Oy!"


Hewitt came out strong and in the opening games of the first set his combination of cross-court forehands and line-drive backhands had Montanes darting corner to corner. Montanes looked agile and his confidence seemed to rise as Hewitt struggled with his first serve, double faulting multiple times. After only 9 minutes of match time and with Montanes leading the first set 2-1, play was halted for a rain delay and soon after, suspended.


In a hopeful attempt to continue the match, Hewitt and Montanes again took the court during another dry period and again, the crowd roared for Hewitt. By attacking the net and sending long drives to the baseline, Hewitt seemed to be thinking more about his game and trying to wear Montanes out. Endurance certainly wasn't Montanes weak point, however, and play continued with long rallies, multiple deuces, aggressive forehands and alternating points. Later in the first set, Montanes joined Hewitt in first-serve difficulty and on a few questionable calls, Hewitt fans roared for a line-challenge. Hewitt declined.


Thirty-five minutes into the match and five games apiece with Hewitt serving, screeching sneakers echoed in the stadium. In the eleventh game, Hewitt, fresh off a right knee injury, ran backwards and miraculously hit a cross-court winner as he was hitting the ground, bringing the score to 40-0. Both Montanes and Hewitt questioned the chair umpire as to whether the conditions were feasible for play and after checking out the court herself she nodded for the men to continue. Unhappy with her decision, and perhaps concerned with sliding to a knee injury relapse, Hewitt, somewhat defiantly, sat down in his chair. Moments later, play was suspended as heavy rain and angry and frustrated "boos" filled the stadium.

Wednesday, the third try was the charm as Hewitt and Montanes took the court again on an overcast but rain-free early afternoon. Picking right up where he left off, Hewitt quickly won the first point to finish Tuesday’s eleventh game, leaving the first set 6-5. He continued on to win the set 7-5.

The second set replicated the first; long rallies in which the speed of Hewitt’s forehand kept Montanes on his toes. Yet Hewitt’s serve continued to suffer. He double faulted five times to Montanes’ three and Hewitt’s frustration was voiced with angry yells. Confidence resurfaced, however, as Hewitt served eight aces to Montanes’ four. Hewitt also had 38 winners (including service winners) to Montanes’ 26.

Montanes certainly put forth a valiant effort and gave the Aussie quite a workout; Montanes repeatedly hit short balls, forcing Hewitt to expend all of his energy charging the net so as to not have enough to sprint back for the long baseline drive that Montanes followed up with.

"For [Montanes] to get 5-2 yesterday, I thought he was playing well," Hewitt said. "His backhand was a lot better than I've seen it in the past. You know, it was a matter of trying to hang in there, 'cause at 2-All I had 15-40 and ended up having three breakpoints and wasn't able to take them. I knew I was gonna get my opportunities, but it was nice to get out of that set and at least be on an even keel going into today."

Just as in Tuesday’s start to the match, Hewitt’s talent at placing hard-hitting shots cross-court to the corner matched up against Montanes smart plays and desire for an upset resulted in long rallies and multiple deuces. And just like Tuesday, Hewitt prevailed.

The first-round match against Montanes was Hewitt’s first in more than two weeks. Due to a right knee injury, he retired in the second round at AMS Toronto and missed both AMS Cincinnati and New Haven; "I think it's wear and tear for the most part, but then the actual patella tendon had something wrong with it, as well, which is probably more so because I was playing with patella tendonitis," said Hewitt. "And the actual tendon's got a split in it."

Though Hewitt questions how his knee will feel Thursday following Wednesday's aggressive play, his injury certainly doesn't seem to be slowing him down. "I've already done some treatment and I'll do some more this afternoon. The knee's not a hundred percent, no.... but at this stage I'm trying to focus on getting through the first week and the next couple of matches. I'll be getting better and better with my rhythm and timing and confidence. And you know, hopefully that can put me in a good position to maybe have another run at it."

While it was questionable if he would even be strong enough to play in the Open, his performance against Montanes over the two-day match demonstrates why this is his eighth straight US Open appearance and why Hewitt has reached the last eight or better in six of his seven previous appearances. The lone exception was a third round elimination in his debut Open in 1999.

Perhaps more impressively, Hewitt’s resume boasts a 2001 US Open victory at age 20 against Pete Sampras, listing him as the second-youngest US Open champion – just behind Sampras - in the Open Era.

In 2006 Grand Slam play, Hewitt has consecutively advanced farther along in each event reaching the second round, the round of 16 and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, respectively.

"It's great playing any Grand Slam," said Hewitt. "The US Open, that's where it started on a Grand Slam level for me, winning the doubles here in 2000 and then obviously the singles the next year." He continued, "I'm not sure why, but I love the atmosphere here. You know, especially when you play big matches on Arthur Ashe Stadium. It's the biggest tennis stadium we ever get to play in front of. It's a pretty awesome thing to be out there, you know, only two guys out there in front of 25,000 people."

Before looking too far ahead, Hewitt, however, will first advance to the second round where he will face Jan Hernych (CZE) who defeated Kevin Kim (USA) 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. This will be the fourth time this year that Hewitt and Hernych square-off.

"He's an underrated player," noted Hewitt. "He's very tough from the back of the court. He moves sideways extremely well on the baseline. He's got a deceptive first serve. So, if I can step it up another notch, that is going to help me out." notas_de_prensa_archivo