Hewitt romps into second round
2008-01-15 10:48
Melbourne - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt advanced to the second round of the Australian Open with an easy 6-0 6-3 6-0 victory over Belgium's Steve Darcis on Tuesday.
The former world number one, who had a poor buildup to the
year's first grand slam with early exits in Adelaide and
Sydney, barely needed to get out of first gear and broke the
23-year-old at will.
Darcis only held serve twice in the match. The only other
game he won was when he broke Hewitt's serve in the fifth game
of the second set. Hewitt intimidated the Belgian, making his
first appearance in the tournament, from the outset on Rod
Laver Arena, and forced him into 21 errors, particularly on his
backhand.
The Australian did not let out his trademark fist pump and
"C'Mon" until the fourth game of the second set, though it was
doubtful whether he needed much crowd support to provide the
inspiration required to dispatch his 83rd-ranked opponent.
Hewitt next meets the winner of the match between 2005
champion Marat Safin and Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.