Tweet
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt defeated an ailing Gael Monfils 7-5 6-3 to win the invitational Kooyong Classic in Melbourne on Saturday and take a timely shot of confidence into next week's Australian Open.
Hewitt appeared in great touch to wrap up the match in 89 minutes, but the 12th-ranked Frenchman was clearly restricted in his movement and grimaced repeatedly when chasing down returns on a steamy day at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
Monfils said in the lead up to the tournament he had struggled to recover from a knee injury in the wake of France's Davis Cup final loss to Serbia last month, but it was a back problem that afflicted him on Saturday.
"I felt something," Monfils told reporters. "I hope it's not major. That's why I took it easy in the end. I started to feel it more but I think it should be okay."
Twice grand slam champion Hewitt, coming back after three months off to recover from a hand injury, will take heart from three successive victories at Kooyong, where he also beat Russians Nikolay Davydenko and world number 10 Mikhail Youzhny.
"It's as good as I could have done," Hewitt told reporters. "The last two weeks I've done everything possible for me.
"I feel like my game is where I wanted it to be 10 weeks ago and physically I feel good, which is a good thing.
"We feel like we've done the best preparation possible," he added.
The 29-year-old's ranking has drifted to 54 but he is adamant he still has the game to trouble the top players at Melbourne Park.
(Writing by Ian Ransom and Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>
Hewitt appeared in great touch to wrap up the match in 89 minutes, but the 12th-ranked Frenchman was clearly restricted in his movement and grimaced repeatedly when chasing down returns on a steamy day at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club.
Monfils said in the lead up to the tournament he had struggled to recover from a knee injury in the wake of France's Davis Cup final loss to Serbia last month, but it was a back problem that afflicted him on Saturday.
"I felt something," Monfils told reporters. "I hope it's not major. That's why I took it easy in the end. I started to feel it more but I think it should be okay."
Twice grand slam champion Hewitt, coming back after three months off to recover from a hand injury, will take heart from three successive victories at Kooyong, where he also beat Russians Nikolay Davydenko and world number 10 Mikhail Youzhny.
"It's as good as I could have done," Hewitt told reporters. "The last two weeks I've done everything possible for me.
"I feel like my game is where I wanted it to be 10 weeks ago and physically I feel good, which is a good thing.
"We feel like we've done the best preparation possible," he added.
The 29-year-old's ranking has drifted to 54 but he is adamant he still has the game to trouble the top players at Melbourne Park.
(Writing by Ian Ransom and Nick Mulvenney, Editing by Peter Rutherford; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>
