- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Lleyton Hewitt is the only Australian man still standing in the singles draw at the French Open following Carsten Ball’s swift second round exit on Wednesday.
In overcast conditions at Roland Garros, Ball’s game cooled off considerably as Serbian Viktor Troicki won 6-4 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 45 minutes.
On the back of a dominant serve and disciplined game, world No.41 Troicki exploited the wildcard’s inexperience at grand slams by claiming the points that truly mattered in their encounter.
Hewitt said on Tuesday Australia needed to regain some depth in the men’s ranks with Peter Luczak having been bundled out at the first hurdle by Roger Federer.
“On the men’s side I would like to see more coming through, there were only two of us straight into the main draw with Carsten getting a wildcard,” Hewitt said.
“It is fantastic that he has got to use that but when I first started here we had guys like the Woodies (Mark Woodforde and Tood Woodbridge).
“OK, they probably were not challenging for the title but they were pushing for the third and fourth rounds consistently and that is what we have to get back to.”
Davis Cup coach Todd Woodbridge said 198cm Ball was still finding his way at the top level.
“Carsten came back a little ginger from that five-set win the other day (over German Philipp Petzschner) and every experience for him at the moment is a new one,” he said.
“Winning the other day was great but today was a lesson learnt about just getting out there and playing solid tennis again.
“In some ways he tried to overplay a bit on big points.
“He is still coming to grips with how good he can be, his game is incredibly dangerous and intimidating but right now I think our goal is to tighten up his game.”
Hewitt on Tuesday kept on track for a third round showdown with clay king Rafael Nadal by producing a comprehensive 7-5 6-0 6-4 opening victory over world No.46 Jeremy Chardy of France on centre court.
“Today was a good win,” said Hewitt.
“I was ready for a tough match against a French guy here, who is on the rise.
“It was going to be a tough draw so I will try to gain as much confidence from that as I can do.”
The win set up a meeting with world No.74 Denis Istomin while Nadal has Argentina’s Horacio Zeballos in his sights.
The South Australian looked terrific in dismantling Chardy, moving well and using all of his renowned tennis nous to undo the young Frenchman.
And he should have too much for Istomin later this week.
As for Nadal, Hewitt said he was not even thinking about the four-time champion yet.
Whether it’s aces or races, try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp for great odds and a great punting experience. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.