Lleyton Hewitt has finally managed to become the winner of the Hall of Fame Championships. He clinched the title yesterday by getting better of Ivo Karlovic of Croatia. It took the Australian more than two hours to win that final match.
It was a contest between two wily, old players and it went down to the wire with the last two sets being decided in the tie breaker.
Hewitt crumbled a little bit in the second set, but, he kept his nerve when it mattered and sealed the tie breaker in the decider to finish off the match.
Hewitt had reached the title round of the Hall of Fame tournament in the last couple of seasons as well, but, on both occasions, he had suffered defeats. This time around though, the luck favoured him and he ended up adding another feather on his cap.
This is the second trophy that Hewitt has lifted in the ongoing season. Before this, he had won the Brisbane International Tennis Tournament as well right at the start of the season.
Speaking in the post match interview, Hewitt said, “It was so close yet so far for me in the last two attempts. I had played reasonably well the previous year, but, still, couldn’t go past the final hurdle. I didn’t want that to be repeated again.”
When asked if he tried to do things differently this year here at Newport, the 33-year Old said, “No, I didn’t. I was just keen to make sure that I didn’t falter on the basics. The deciding set was difficult and it was important that I didn’t get broken in that.”
“It’s really pleasing that I am through to the title. It feels really good.”
Hewitt is presently at the 41st position in the world rankings.