Help
© Tennistalk.com
|
|
© Tennistalk.com
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© Tennistalk.com
|
|
© Tennistalk.com
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
1/21/12 3:44 PM | Cheryl Murray
Lleyton Hewitt delighted the Aussie fans with an impressive victory over No. 23 seed Milos Raonic, with the Aussie now moving on to take on Novak Djokovic.
Lleyton Hewitt def. Milos Raonic (23) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3
It was almost like watching the Lleyton Hewitt of old. The Aussie veteran and wildcard got the crowd pumped up after a slow start in the first set. Raonic served up 23 aces in the match, but a first serve percentage of 53% was not enough to get it done against a fine returner like Hewitt.
After splitting the first two sets, the two men battled in the third to force a tiebreaker. Raonic gave Hewitt the early lead with an ill-timed double fault. Hewitt gave back the mini-break with a couple of dismal unforced errors, but another error by Raonic on set point gave Hewitt the two sets to one lead.
A shoddy service game at 2-1 in fourth from Raonic sealed the deal for the Canadian. Hewitt took that service break through the end of the set to cop an impressive upset win. Hewitt will take on Novak Djokovic in the fourth round.
Richard Gasquet (17) def. Janko Tipsarevic (9) 6-3, 6-1, 6-1
France's Richard Gasquet forged an upset of his own with a drubbing of the No. 9 seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. Gasquet played near-flawless tennis with just eight unforced errors compared to 33 winners.
Tipsarevic was never really a factor in this match. Gasquet hit well off both wings and he even kicked in six aces. The Frenchman utterly dominated Tipsarevic in the first two sets, but by the third, Tipsarevic's play had so fallen apart that Gasquet had only to keep the ball in play.
Gasquet will take on long-time rival David Ferrer in the round of 16.
Find the latest tennis odds at Unibet.com
Tell a friend »
Raonic has nothing in his game that can potentially trouble Djokovic. His only big weapon is his serve but Djokovic is the world's best returner. He doesn't move well, he is not nimble on the court, he still has a lot of work to do. Hewitt will put up a great fight. Murray and Federer are the worst match ups for Nole. And if they get to the semis, Nole and Murray, honestly, I am not sure Nole will win.
danica , 1/21/12 11:40 PM
danica, I agree about Raonic. His movement isn't good enough. Nole would eat him for breakfast. That being said, I don't know that Hewitt is going to offer much in the way of resistance either.
Murray can be a tough match for Nole, but I still think Nole will win. He's in fierce form.
cherylmurray , 1/21/12 11:51 PM
There is also a Ferrer. Ferrer is in good form, don't expect him to play like in the Abu Dhabi exho. Of course Ferrer has to get past Gasquet first. Nole has all the grinders along his path, first Hewitt, then maybe Ferrer, and maybe Murray in the SF, someone who can stay with Nole for as long as possible. If not Murray, then Tsonga who is also in good form. The first three opponents were not good tests for Nole; from what I observed, Nole as usual was running after and returning so many balls. This court is so slow and players can simply run after, retrieve and return so many balls. There are so many, in fact too many, long rallies in the matches, not very good on the players' bodies.
Rafa OTOH has all the big hitters or aggressive players along his path: Feli, Almagro or Berdych, then Fed or Delpo.
luckystar , 1/22/12 12:55 AM
you know, I can't help but think that Rafa would be DELIGHTED to play Almagro. :)
Won't though. It'll be Berdych, and he's playing really well right now. Nole is probably going to get Ferrer then Muzz, not exactly a walk in the park.
cherylmurray , 1/22/12 1:46 AM
Now the Ozzie Open starts for Rafa...............................
rafaisthebest , 1/22/12 7:36 AM
I am not ashamed to say that I had tears in my eyes when Hewitt won his match. That was a beautiful thing to see. A nice moment in front of a hometown crowd.
Good for him! He won't be able to trouble Nole, but he has already accomplished so much by playing well and getting into the round of 16.
If Murray can keep it together mentally, he could really give Nole a battle.
Almagro has put up a real fight against Berdy.
Nativenewyorker , 1/22/12 7:49 AM
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
Milos Raonic 
Lleyton Hewitt 
Janko Tipsarevic 
I thought Raonic could have troubled djokovic
tennis2011 , 1/21/12 8:56 PM