Legg Mason Report: Former Champ Hewitt Opens with a W
Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the 2007 champion, was the first big name to take the court in the 2009 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, drawing the up-and-coming American Donald Young and dispatching him in straight sets (matches at the Classic are best-of-three sets as opposed to the best-of-five you see in Grand Slam events). Hewitt willed himself early on with a sharp, point-by-point "come on" after braking Young's serve in the first set. Young, kicking off the next game with a successful challenge, immediately broke back, but then missed an easy kill and continued to mishit the ball, eventually dropping the first set 7-5. While Young was able to reach several deuce points in the second set, he was eventually worn down by Hewitt, who won 6-5, 6-2 in just over 90 minutes. The victory pits Hewitt against Israeli Dudi Sela in the next round.
In the evening's late match, American 24-year-old John Isner battled back from three set points with noteworthy composure in a first set tiebreak against Andrey Golubev, firing a powerful forehand right as the Kazak stood at the net to win 10-8. A break seemed elusive for either player in the second set, especially with Isner landing 77 percent of his first serves on the evening, hovering around and sometimes eclipsing the 140 mph mark. And while Golubev landed only half of his first serves in the second set, Isner had trouble returning his serve, which were much slower than his, even dipping below 100 mph. Isner eventually found an opening after Golubev's unforced errors sent the American up 5-3. In the next game, an ace from Isner and three more errors from his opponent meant the match was his.
Along with the stadium court, the three side courts to the south of the stadium are also in use for the Classic. At tournaments, these present any fan a chance to sit right on top of the action and can be the site of some of the scrappiest action early on in a tournament. For instance: family and friends linking arms in the front row of the grandstand to support Michael Russell last night. The wild card, one of three players competing thanks to a special invitation from organizers, was just one break point away from serving for the match and a chance at defending champ Juan Martin del Potro. But Taiwan's Yen-Hsun Lu managed to hold serve and the match ended on a Russell double fault, his third of the final set.
Lu's match against del Potro, the 20-year-old Argentinean ranked 6th in the world and 2nd in the tournament, is the late match tonight. Tommy Haas and Marin Cilic are also featured among eight other singles matches this evening. The doubles draw will get underway during tonight's action -- matches start at 4 p.m. and run until 11 p.m. or later. Single match tickets are available through Ticketmaster.