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Thursday, 19 January 2006 |
Lleyton Hewitt defeated at Australian Open
 Tennis
star Lleyton Hewitt is out of the second round of the Australian Open
after a punishing four-set defeat by Juan Ignacio Chela.
Number three seed Lleyton Hewitt, who knocked out Juan Ignacio Chela in
a tie in Melbourne a year ago, put in not such a good display this time
against the Argentinean player.
But Lleyton Hewitt harboured no ill feeling as he crumbled to a 6-4 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 loss, despite the support of the crowd.
However, Lleyton Hewitt had struggled with a left ankle injury
throughout so perhaps under the circumstances it was not such a
surprising result.
Juan Ignacio Chela, who also received treatment for cramp in the fourth
set, had earlier knocked out Andy Murray in the first round.
After his second win of the week, Juan Ignacio Chela said: "I'm really
happy - he's a big fighter and he showed that by winning the fourth
set."
The Argentinean player dominated the match throughout and comfortably held off an out-of-sorts Lleyton Hewitt in the first set.
Lleyton Hewitt in the first set. His opponent, however, looked set to
level proceedings in the second set when he moved to 3-1 but he was
twice broken to lose the advantage and silence the crowd at the Rod
Laver Arena.
Then it became virtually a role reversal in the third as Lleyton Hewitt went 3-0 up before being dragged back to a tiebreak.
It was then that former world number one Lleyton Hewitt showed his best
form, although it took him seven break points to take the set.
But that was when and where Lleyton Hewitt's challenge came to an end,
as his ankle, which had to be treated by the trainer, was clearly
causing him much trouble.
When Juan Ignacio Chela moved to 3-0 up, he looked in no danger of
losing, despite the slight cramp, and he took the victory with his one
and only match point.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 23 January 2006 )
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