And down goes No. 2. At Tuesday night’s continuation of
the first round of the 2006 Countrywide Classic, two-seeded Lleyton
Hewitt was taken down by unseeded Paul Goldstein in straight sets
6-4, 6-4. Hewitt, ranked 13th in the world, was one of the
favorites to win the tournament until Goldstein, ranked 85th, beat
him. Goldstein had control of the match much of the way through.
“He played well, he played solid,” Hewitt said.
“He makes a lot of balls. He’s a guy you’ve got
to go out there and beat. He didn’t give me too many cheap
ones out there. But I feel like I lost it too on my own
terms.” The Australian appeared sluggish in the match, which
may have been attributed to his long time off and the fact that he
arrived only yesterday morning. The last tournament Hewitt played
in was Wimbledon in early July. Goldstein, who just two years ago
was thinking of quitting tennis after nearly dropping out of the
top 200, counts this match as one of his top four. “I felt
really good,” Goldstein said. “Sure I was 0-4 against
Lleyton … but at 5-4 (in the second set) I felt more relaxed than
I’ve ever been. Today I was just able to maintain an even
demeanor. “I think it has to be (one of the best I’ve
every played). I served well, I maintained that discipline. It
wasn’t just about hitting big balls, it was a tactical
match.” Goldstein, an American, will move on to face Igor
Kunitsyn of Russia tomorrow.
ALSO TODAY: In singles play, Marat Safin beat
Mardy Fish 6-4, 7-5. Dominik Hrbaty defeated Zack Fleishman 7-5,
7-5. George Bastl beat Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 7-6. Tommy Haas defeated
Wayne Arthurs 6-4, 6-4. Lars Burgsmuller defeated Michael Yani 6-4,
3-6, 6-3. Sam Querry defeated Vincent Spadea 7-5, 6-4. And Scott
Oudsema defeated Benjamin Becker 7-5, 6-3. The tournament thus far
has been marked by a multitude of straight-set victories.
RODDICK GETS NEW COACH: Andy Roddick, the one
seed in the Countrywide Classic announced his new coach on Monday:
former tennis great Jimmy Connors. In Roddick’s first
tournament with Connors as his coach, he reached the finals of the
RCA Championships in Indianapolis before losing in three sets to
James Blake. Roddick doesn’t think it was a lack of
confidence that saw him fall to the No. 10 in the world.
“(You) know I never felt that I couldn’t play tennis
anymore,” Roddick said. “It was just a matter of taking
what you’re doing on the practice court and applying it in
matches. Jimmy and I worked together and he gave me some things to
work on, and I went and tried to apply them as best I
could.”
With reports from Bobby Gordon, Bruin Sports senior
staff.