Australian Lleyton Hewitt won the final match of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport on Sunday, defeating Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 6-3, 6-7, 7-6.
Hewitt, 33, now has 30 career ATP titles under his belt.
"I felt relief to have finally won here. It’s an important tournament,” Hewitt, the singles runner-up in 2012-'13, said. “For me, I’ve come here the last three years and have come awfully close the last two years. It’s nice to be rewarded today."
Hewitt fought gusty winds to dig out the win in two hours and 30 minutes in the singles final. Hewitt’s precise return game preyed on the Karlovic serve (57 per cent), winning 66 per cent (36 of 54) of second serve points.
The 35-year-old Croat managed to fight off two match points as Hewitt served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and drew even to force - and win - the second-set tie-break. The scenario was reminiscent of Hewitt’s runner-up finish last year, when the 2002 Wimbledon champion served for the match at 5-4 in the second but eventually lost.
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After a shaky start in the decider for Hewitt, when he saved three break points, the pair held serve until the tie-break. Hewitt converted on his third match point.
“We had tough conditions today, especially for serving,” he said. “I was just trying to play clean tennis as much as possible. From the baseline I was able to adjust to wind better than him.”
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With a combined 68 years and 10 months between Hewitt and Karlovic, the match was the oldest tour-level final since 1977, when Ken Rosewall andTom Gorman played in the Hong Kong final (74 years and 8 months). It marked the fourth all 30-over final of 2014.
"Hewitt returned really well," said Karlovic, a winner of two grass-court titles. "He rarely missed. I didn’t have my normal serve because it was windy. I was committing a lot of double faults and missing volleys - both of which I don’t normally do. That was because of the wind and because Hewitt was always right there.
“I’m a little disappointed but overall it was a good week."
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