Fighting tooth and nail as only he knows how, Lleyton Hewitt waved an emotional goodbye to Wimbledon after losing a five-set thriller to Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen on Monday.
Thirteen years after beating Argentina’s David Nalbandian to win the title, Hewitt, 34, who will retire after next year’s Australian Open, went toe to toe with fellow veteran Nieminen but went down 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-0, 11-9.
Roared on by fans dressed in gold, Hewitt saved two match points at 5-4 in the fifth set but eventually succumbed in a match spanning four hours.
It was the former world No 1 Australian’s 56th five-setter in a grand slam career in which he also beat Pete Sampras to win the 2001 US Open.
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An emotional Hewitt said: “Even yesterday I just went and sat in the stands of Centre Court, you know, just soaked it up and listened to music in there.
“Coming back knowing that it’s your last time competing, as I’ve said all year, I’m fortunate that I can have that opportunity to do that. I have tried to soak it up.”
Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori overcame an injury scare to reach the second round with a gruelling 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Italy’s Simone Bolelli.
Afterwards, Nishikori, who needed to have his left leg strapped in the final set, said: “I’m very happy to win the match today. He’s a tough player on grass – we played five sets last year.
“My leg should be OK. It was a little bit sore last week, but it’s getting better. It wasn’t easy to play three hours.”
French Open champion and third seed Stan Wawrinka reached the Wimbledon second round on Monday with a 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 win over Portugal’s Joao Sousa.
Wawrinka will face Victor Estrella Burgos for a place in the last 32.
When Maria Sharapova miserably exited the French Open four weeks ago it was to a soundtrack of her coughing. Her trademark scream was back at full volume yesterday when she blew past Briton Johanna Konta in the first round.
Having returned to the United States to rest and recover from a virus that contributed to her fourth-round defeat by Czech Lucie Safarova, Sharapova looked revitalised as she triumphed 6-2, 6-2 in the sunshine of Centre Court.
Although her serve was a little shaky, she eased through the first set, giving the home fans little to bite on.
Konta rallied with a break in the opening game of the second set. But she struggled to deal with the strength and depth of Sharapova’s ground strokes and the match moved towards its expected straight-sets conclusion.
“The first match of Wimbledon is never the easiest and especially against an opponent who has had a good few weeks and is a crowd favourite,” Sharapova said. “But I wanted to focus on myself as I haven’t played for a couple of weeks.
“I returned really well today – she served pretty hard, and I was able to get a bit of an advantage there.”
Five-time Wimbledon champion Venus Williams steamed through her first-round match by beating US compatriot Madison Brengle 6-0, 6-0 in 42 minutes.
Williams hit 29 winners to two from Brengle, the world No 36, and won the match with her sixth ace to complete the so-called “double bagel” of winning in two sets without losing a game.
And there was another double bagel yesterday as 14th-seeded Andrea Petkovic defeated Shelby Rogers 6-0, 6-0 on Court 8.
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