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TEN: HEWITT GIVES AUSTRALIA 1-0 LEAD
By Wayne Heming
BRISBANE, Sept 24 AAP - Adelaide teenager Lleyton Hewitt weathered some erratic but
dangerous challenges from unpredictable Russian Marat Safin to provide Australia with an
ideal start to its Davis Cup semi-final here today.
Hewitt, who at 18 has the responsibility of being Australia's number one singles
spearhead, disarmed the young Russian's booming serves and forced him into constant error
before taking the opening rubber 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 4-6 6-3.
Safin, who struggled on the grass like a kid on rollerskates for the first time, came out
with guns blazing against a tentative Hewitt.
He pulled out a booming ace to win the first game before breaking his rival with a
two-handed backhand which he whipped across court like a bullet fired from a gun.
The 19 year-old Russian, who saved five match points in the fourth set was totally
devastated by the way he played and performed for his country, describing his display as
the worst of his career.
"I played like a real shit, I can't find any other word for my game today," said
the distraught teenager.
"Maybe I will quit with my tennis is a few days."
Hewitt, who broke Safin in the third game of the opening set, repeatedly played to the
crowd, and the thousands of face-painted fans rallied behind him in the first set tie
break which the young Australian cruised through 7-0.
Safin's emotions finally boiled over in the second game of the third set when after twice
double faulting on serve, he smashed a ball high into the packed stands only to be hit by
a code violation penalty warning.
Hewitt looked to be charging toward a straight sets walkover at 3-0 and 30-0 before Safin
started to get a roll on and find the zone with his huge forehands.
The Australian, who now has a perfect 3-0 singles record after two victories in Boston
earlier this year on debut, had a lucky break in the ninth game of the third set when the
chair umpire overruled a wide serve by Safin who protested vigorously.
Safin however managed to keep his composure and break Hewitt who had won his previous
eight service games for a 5-4 lead.
He then bombed down an ace to grab the set 6-4 before Hewitt quickly ended his comeback
with an early break in the fourth set as Safin made too many
errors.
Hewitt often revved up the big crowd on big points and on occasions pumped himself up by
giving captain John Newcombe high fives in between games.
Newcombe was out of his chair cheering and clapping when Hewitt served for a 5-2 lead in
the fourth set but things got a bit tense when Safin beat off a string of five match
points before Hewitt finally landed the knockout blow two hours 39 minutes after the first
serve hit the grass.
Here's a Reuters report on Hewitt's win:
Tennis-Australia strikes first in Davis Cup semi
By Julian Linden
BRISBANE, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Rising tennis star Lleyton Hewitt crushed Marat
Safin 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 4-6 6-3 on Friday to give Australia a 1-0 lead over
Russia in their Davis Cup semifinal.
The 18-year-old Hewitt overcame a shaky start in front of a vocal home crowd to demoralise
the Russian and give Australia's injury-hit team a perfect start to the tie.
``Once I got on top of him, he basically just chucked in the towel,'' Hewitt said.
``I really should have won in straight sets.''
Playing on grass for only the second time in his career, Safin never looked comfortable on
the ANZ Stadium surface, struggling to find any rhythm.
When the match finished, he walked from the court with his head bowed, then told reporters
that he had been deflated by the whole experience.
``In my whole life, I have never played like that,'' a despondent Safin said.
``I just have no confidence at the moment. I feel so bad that I don't think I could beat
anybody at the moment.
``It's going to be hard for me to come back on the court after this match. Maybe I should
quit tennis in a few days.''
Safin, ranked 36 in the world, reached set point on Hewitt's serve in the 10th game of the
first set but failed to convert his chance as the Australian took control of the match
with his more reliable serve and volley game.
Hewitt, who was thrust into the role as Australia's No.1 singles player after their two
top-ranked players Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis withdrew through injury, forced the
set into a tiebreaker then rattled off seven points in a row to take an early lead.
The Adelaide teenager made his Davis Cup debut in July when Australia beat the United
States in the quarter finals even though he is ranked as high as 31 in the world.
He broke Safin's opening service game in the second set when the 19-year-old Russian twice
double faulted then broke him again in the eighth game to take a 2-0 lead.
He also looked to be in control of the third set when he led 3-0 and 4-2 before
momentarily losing concentration.
Safin, the hero of Russia's quarter final win over the Slovak Republic in July, fought
back gallantly in the third, taking the set in 47 minutes.
But he was unable to continue his momentum in the fourth as Hewitt regained control,
breaking his serve twice more to clinch victory after two hours and 39 minutes.
``He just doesn't have any confidence on grass,'' Hewitt said. ``As soon as something went
wrong he started blaming the court and hitting balls into the crowd.''
Australia's Wayne Arthurs was playing world number two Yevgeny Kafelnikov in Friday's
second singles match.
The doubles will be played on Saturday with the reverse singles on Sunday.
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