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Hewitt grabs quarter-final spot
Former champion Lleyton Hewitt dropped his first set and first service games of the tournament at Wimbledon on the way to a 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 win over claycourt specialist Carlos Moya.
"I look forward to the challenge ahead but I have to raise the level of my game," Hewitt said. "Roger's capable of playing exceptional tennis -- he has an all-court game". Hewitt, who suffered a humiliating first-round exit last year after winning in 2002, strode into the second week with easy victories over Juergen Melzer and Irakli Labadze before sending an emotional Goran Ivanisevic into retirement in the third round.
Hewitt's ranking has dropped after illness in 2003 affected his form and he decided to cut back on the number of tournaments he played. He is now ranked 10 in the world.
The pair, who both prefer to hit from the baseline, traded ferocious groundstrokes, but Hewitt's penetrating serve gave him the edge particularly in the first two sets. He broke the Spanish ninth seed in the 10th game of the first set for a comfortable lead and looked to be cruising after breaking twice in the second. The 27-year-old Moya was far too experienced to allow his 23-year-old opponent an uninterrupted ride, however. He took advantage of an early lapse in the third set to break immediately, piling the pressure on Hewitt with telling passes and some deft drop shots. Hewitt broke back but succumbed again in the 10th game, peppering his game with errors and looking fragile for the first time in the tournament. "I expected a tough match even though grass isn't his favourite surface," Hewitt said. Moya kept it tough to the end but a tiebreak proved a step too far on the grass for the man from Mallorca. Hewitt attacked the Spaniard's serve, producing volley and smash winners for minibreaks before Moya netted on the second match point to hand him victory. |
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