Advertisement

Help
You are here: Rediff Home » India » Sports » Tennis » Reuters > Report
Search:  Rediff.com The Web
Advertisement
  Discuss this Article   |      Email this Article   |      Print this Article

Double blow for Hewitt
Get Sports updates:What's this?
Advertisement
May 23, 2006 11:25 IST

Lleyton Hewitt's [Images] first claycourt outing in two years ended painfully as he twisted his ankle during a 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 defeat by Brazilian Marcos Daniel in the opening round of the Poertschach International on Monday.

The Australian, who has suffered a run of bad luck over the past two claycourt seasons with a series of injuries, could miss his second successive French Open if the latest setback turns out to be serious.

Playing his first match on the ATP tour for almost two months, Hewitt looked in good physical shape in the Austrian city until the closing stages of the contest.

Trailing 4-3 in the third set tiebreak, the former world number one twisted his ankle and immediately collapsed behind the baseline clutching his foot in agony.

He remained rooted to the baseline before being attended to by a trainer.

The second seed returned to complete the match but failed to win another point as Daniel secured victory with an easy forehand.

Hewitt now faces a race against time to get fit for the season's second Grand Slam tournament, which begins at Roland Garros in Paris on Sunday.



© Copyright 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
 Email this Article      Print this Article

© 2008 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Feedback