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2/20/09 3:20 AM | Ricky Dimon
Mardy Fish, last week's San Jose runner-up, bows out of Memphis in surprising fashion to Christophe Rochus. Next up for the Belgian is Lleyton Hewitt, who ousted fellow Aussie Chris Guccione.
Lleyton Hewitt d. Chris Guccione 6-2, 7-6(4)
Guccione won the only previous encounter between these two Aussies last year in Sydney, but Hewitt turned the tables on Thursday afternoon in Memphis. Hewitt simply dominated on serve, which is always important against the 6'7'' Guccione, who is so tough to break. In the first set, however, Hewitt also did plenty of damage in the return game. While he didn't lose a single point on his own serve, Hewitt converted two of four break points to take the set 6-2. The former world No. 1 continued to take care of his serve in set two, but Guccione's serve began to have a much bigger impact. Twelve straight holds without one break chance took the second frame of play to a tiebreaker. Guccione did not put enough of his first serves in when it mattered most and Hewitt controlled the 'breaker from start to finish, winning it seven points to four. Hewitt is now in his first ATP quarterfinal of the season, where he will take on the surprising Christophe Rochus.
Christophe Rochus d. Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-4
One week after an impressive run to the San Jose title match, Fish crashed out of Memphis in shocking fashion at the hands of Rochus. The seventh-seeded American lost the match more than Rochus won it, and Rochus even admitted as much. "If he plays 100 percent, I can't win," he said afterward. "I have the game to beat him if he's not good." On serve, Fish was far from good on Sunday afternoon. He put in just 45 percent of his first serves and got broken in the opening game of the match. Fish was equally atrocious on return in the first set, winning just five points in four Rochus service games. He finally got a break in the second set, but his serve continued to betray him. Fish faced nine break points in set two, and saving seven of them was not enough. It's already been a great week for Rochus, who at 72nd in the world had only won one match in four tournaments this year. Making it all the more surprising is that Rochus is playing with countryman Steve Darcis' rackets because his luggage got lost in travel.
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