MELBOURNE: Lleyton Hewitt showed vintage form as he humbled Juan Martin Del Potro 6-1, 6-4 yesterday to win the Kooyong Classic, giving him a major boost ahead of his first match at the Australian Open.
The former number one and two-time Grand Slam winner a decade ago completed victories over three top-15 opponents at the eight-man special event at the Kooyong Stadium -- the former home of the Open.
Hewitt’s current game belies his 82nd place ranking, with the 31-year-old veteran hopeful of doing major damage as he begins play on Monday against Serb eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic at Melbourne Park.
“Janko is a tough first round -- but there are not too many easy first rounds out there,” said Hewitt. “He’s a quality player who has improved a lot in the past two years.
“It’s nice to know I’ve done all the right preparation, I can just go out there and play,” said the battler who a year ago had the foot surgery that finally cured a lingering problem that had forced him to play in pain.
Hewitt earned his comprehensive win over number seven Argentine Del Potro in 66 minutes to duplicate his Kooyong title from 2011.
The Australian raced through the opening set in 27 minutes, reaching a 3-1 lead after just 16 minutes. He finished off the set on a first set point as Del Potro fired a forehand long.
Del Potro made a stab at a rally in the second set, breaking Hewitt for 3-4 at one point and levelling at 4-all soon after.
But Hewitt stayed in control, moving to 5-4 and finishing a game later on a second match point, a stinging forehand return winner. AFP
