Hewitt Downs Federer on Home Turf for Brisbane International Title

January 6, 2014 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Photo credit: Adam Wolfthal

Australian Lleyton Hewitt defeated Roger Federer 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in the finals of the Brisbane International, presented by Suncorp, earning his first ATP World Tour title since the 2010.

"It means a lot with the caliber of players here as well in this tournament," said Hewitt. "It's not an easy tournament to win. I wasn't one of the top four seeds, so I had to win all five matches to get through. There are pleasing parts and massive positives to take out of it."

Hewitt took the first set 6-1 over Federer, breaking Federer three times in 27 minutes as Federer committed 22 errors. Federer fought back in the second set, securing the lone break in the ninth game. The 17-time Grand Slam champion held his serve to even the match at one set all in 49 minutes.  Hewitt bounced back in the third set, breaking Federer in the fourth game to go 3-1. Hewitt saved all seven break points he faced in that set, leading to him hoisting his 29th tour-level title in two hours and seven minutes.

“I’m looking back now, the last three, four months it’s been very positive going through Basel, Paris, and London," said Federer. "All three weeks in a row where I played a lot of matches, a lot of three setters as well. I went through all of December and probably practiced more than all the guys ranked ahead of me because they were playing exhibitions and all that stuff. I did that for a full month, a lot of training, and now here I had another busy week and I’m actually holding up very good. So that's a good sign moving into 2014. I didn’t quite know what to expect from myself before the tournament. I played consistent, I must say. No breaks in the first three matches. Lleyton was the best player I played this week. He made it toughest on me, so I have a clear idea what I need to work on and I have a clear idea where my mind and body is.”

Federer led the career head-to-head with Hewitt coming into the finals match 18-8 and had lost just once in his last 17 meetings. Their last meeting on Australian soil came in 2011 when Australia entertained Switzerland on grass in the Davis Cup World Group playoff, with Federer prevailing in four sets.


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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