After falling behind 0-2 in the first set, Lleyton Hewitt rallied to dispatch Phillip Simmonds 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in the first round of the Atlanta Tennis Championships at the Racquet Club of the South in Norcross.
Hewitt said a combination of never having seen Simmonds and Tuesday's hot conditions contributed to his bumpy beginning. Because temperatures surpassed 93 degrees, Hewitt said the balls were bouncing higher and traveling further they normally would. Once he got used to that, he was able to begin to move Simmonds around the court and neutralize his preferred weapon, the first serve. Simmonds, a qualifier, won 70 percent of his first-serve points, compared with Hewitt’s 89 percent. “I served smarter as I went on, which made things a bit easier for me,” Hewitt said.
Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No. 1, is trying to battle back from a variety of injuries. He had foot surgery in March that has necessitated the spot use of injections and pain-killers, but said he “felt pretty good out there today.”
Hewitt next will face the winner of the match between qualifier Rajeev Ram and fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
Sixth seed loses
Australia’s Marinko Matosevic, a qualifier, pulled off the second upset at the ATC when he dumped sixth-seeded Igor Kunitsyn 6-7 (3), 6-2, 7-5.
Matosevic, who hadn’t won an ATP-level match outside of qualifiers this year, was broken while serving for the match. He broke back and then served for the match to improve to 1-6 this year. He will face Yen-Hsun Lu in the second round. Lu defeated Matthias Bachinger 7-5, 7-6 (4) on Tuesday.
“To win my first one was good,” Matosevic said.
Matosevic fired 10 aces, including four in the final set and back-to-back rockets to end the final game.
Series within a series
Starting within this week’s Atlanta Tennis Championships is the Olympus U.S. Open Series, a group of hard-court tournaments (five men’s, four women’s, one combined) that lead to the U.S. Open.
The series was started in 2004 as an attempt to galvanize TV audiences and local tennis communities, according to Tim Curry, director of corporate communications for the United States Tennis Association.
It seems to be working. More than 1.6 million people in North America attended series events last year, a 10 percent increase compared with the same events in 2003.
The changes have been cosmetic (blue tennis courts) and financial. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history when he won the U.S. Open and the U.S. Open Series, taking home $2.4 million.
Players earn different amounts of points, depending upon how they do in each tournament. To be eligible, a player has to compete in at least two tournaments. The player who finishes with the most points has a chance to earn a $1 million bonus by winning the U.S. Open, which will be played Aug. 29-Sept. 11 in New York. Losing in the first round of the U.S. Open and winning the series results in a $15,000 bonus. Other bonuses hinge on Open results and series standings.
Andy Murray and Caroline Wozniacki won last year’s series.
Gathering place
Aside from the Stadium Court, one of the more popular gathering spots for fans Tuesday was the practice court just behind the stadium.
James Blake, who rallied to defeat Ernests Gulbis in three sets late Monday night, was the player many wanted to watch.
Brad Thompson of LaGrange made the drive to watch Blake and John Isner team for their doubles match, to be played later Tuesday night. “He’s an American. He’s had a lot of injuries. I just like watching him play,” Thompson said of Blake.
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