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| Lleyton Hewitt of Australia returns a forehand to Carlos Moya of
Spain during the round robin stage of the Tennis Masters
Cup in Houston, Texas. [Agencies] |
A fired-up Lleyton Hewitt underlined his determination to
end the season with a third Masters Cup title as he rallied past
Spain's Carlos Moya 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 to complete their rain-delayed opening match
Tuesday.
Returning to the Westside Tennis Club under gloomy skies and just two
points from taking the opening set, Hewitt's play was as dreary as the Texas weather, allowing Moya
to claw back from 5-4 0-30 down to claim the set in a tiebreak 7-5.
But the Adelaide fighter, Masters Cup champion in 2001 and 2002, was
quickly back to his fist-pumping best in the second set as he twice broke
the Spaniard on the way to a 4-0 lead.
Hewitt, who enjoyed a superb hard-court campaign with back-to-back titles
in Washington and Long Island and a place in the US Open final, met
unexpectedly tough resistance in the third set.
 Nursing a shoulder injury that prevented him competing on the
European indoor circuit, the Spaniard refused to be run off the court by
the energetic Australian.
"He didn't look like a bloke that hasn't played for a few weeks,"
said Hewitt. "He's a hell of a player, he really is."
A relentless Hewitt finally make the breakthrough in the seventh game,
however, with two fist-clenching winners to secure the break and a 4-3
lead.
Moya continued to fight but finished the match without earning a break
point on Hewitt's serve.
The win left Hewitt tied atop the Red Group standings with world number
one Roger Federer of Switzerland, who opened with a 6-1 7-6 win over
Argentina's Gaston Gaudio.
"I feel like I'm playing well," said Hewitt.
"Obviously through the US summer I feel like I played extremely well the whole way through and
ran into a red-hot Federer in the final of the US
(Open).
(Agencies) | 
Updated: 2004-11-16 09:54