 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
Hewitt meets his match Escude hands Australian first loss of 2001 on grass
Updated: Monday July 02, 2001 3:57 PM
LONDON (Reuters) -- France's Nicolas Escude ended the Wimbledon hopes of fifth seed Lleyton Hewitt in a thrilling five-setter on Monday, beating the Australian 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the fourth round. Hewitt, unbeaten on grass this season, arrived at Wimbledon as one of the favorites for the men's title and he extended his win-loss record on the slick surface to 15-0 as he ploughed through the early rounds at the All England Club. But the 20-year-old never looked totally at ease in his first three matches, and against Escude he ran out of ideas. Escude faces second seed Andre Agassi in the quarterfinals. Pat Rafter, the third seed and Hewitt's compatriot, had urged his Davis Cup teammate to improve his game if he had designs on his first Grand Slam crown. But Hewitt failed to heed the warning and as the unfancied Escude, seeded 24th, kept his cool on Court 2, Hewitt raged against everything around him to fall to defeat in three hours, 27 minutes. As Escude broke for the second time in the fifth and deciding set, Hewitt appeared to shout at his opponent across the net. It was a typical Hewitt tactic in an attempt to psyche himself up for one last effort and, at one point, it worked. He trailed 5-1, 30-love in the decider but hit back to take the next three games to pressurize Escude. But despite the supporters roaring Hewitt towards an unlikely comeback, the Frenchman refused to buckle. He served with confidence to carve out three match points, and when Hewitt netted a forehand with Escude bearing down on the net on the first, it was all over. It had started promisingly for Hewitt as Escude double-faulted with the score at 4-4 in the first set, allowing Hewitt to seize the initiative. But Hewitt always struggled to find his rhythm and it was no surprise when he was broken once in each of the next two sets to gift his opponent a way back. Hewitt rescued himself by breaking Escude's serve at 5-4 in the fourth set with the help of a stunning crosscourt return. But further unforced errors from his racket undermined his best efforts.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
