Hewitt's surface tension - Clay play still a sticky problem
Hewitt's surface tension - Clay play still a sticky problem
Tennis
Saturday, 8 May 2004
Lleyton Hewitt bowed out of the Rome Masters yesterday, but is determined the
match will help him build his confidence on clay courts.
Fellow former top five players Tim Henman and Marat Safin were also early
loser as the tournament's contingent of Spanish and South American clay
specialists finally came to the fore.
Former world number one Hewitt was beaten 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the second round by
Romania's Andrei Pavel.
Hewitt, who has two grand slams under is belt, took the first set, but Pavel
fought back to clinch a three- setter.
The Romanian kept his nerve to seal the match after heavy showers interrupted
play for 90 minutes.
Pavel set up a third round match with David Sanchez of Spain which will resume
today. He was leading 7-6 2-1 before play was stopped.
Despite failing to get up yesterday, Hewitt was not too disheartened by his
early exit, insisting he was slowly coming to terms with Europe's slower
surfaces.
"The clay court season is probably one of the toughest for me, but I'm not
hitting the ball badly at the moment," said the 23-year-old.
"Hopefully Hamburg and the World Team Cup is going to prepare me well for the
French Open and improve my confidence.
"If I feel confident, then I feel I can compete with the best players even on
a clay court.
"I don't feel I'm far from where I want to be. In February I won in Rotterdam
and probably played as well as I have ever done for a whole week."
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