HEWITT, TOMIC AMONG FOUR AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON FIRST DAY OF ROGERS CUP BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 3rd August 2014

ATP Tennis Tournament in Washington, DC.

HEWITT, TOMIC AMONG FOUR AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON FIRST DAY OF ROGERS CUP BY RICKY DIMON

epa04337214 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia hits the ball back to Milos Raonic of Canada during their men's singles match at the Citi Open ATP tennis tournament in Washington, DC, USA, 31 July 2014. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO |

It was Canada’s time to shine in the United States on Sunday, when Milos Raonic battled Vasek Pospisil in the Washington, D.C. final. Now will it be Australia’s time to shine in Canada on Monday? Lleyton Hewitt, Bernard Tomic, Marinko Matosevic, and Thanasi Kokkinakis make up a quartet of Australians in action at the Rogers Cup.

Hewitt and Julien Benneteau will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the first time in more than five years. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Hewitt, who most recently prevailed in three sets at the 2009 Sydney event. Their other hard-court encounter was won by Benneteau, in straight sets at the 2008 Las Vegas tournament.

Both veterans are still going relatively strong 10 years after their first meeting. Hewitt, 33, is a respectable 19-13 for the season. He captured a grass-court title in Newport last month and he is coming off a third-round showing in Washington, D.C., where he fell to eventual champion Milos Raonic in a pair of tiebreakers. Benneteau, 32, registers at a decent 46th in the world as of Sunday but he has struggled at the ATP level since reaching the Indian Wells quarterfinals. The Frenchman lost his first match since Wimbledon, a 6-4, 6-3 decision against Donald Young in Washington, D.C.

Australian Bernard Tomic competes against Colombian Alejandro Falla, during their match at the ATP 250 Claro Open Colombia 2014 in Bogota, Colombia, 16 July 2014. EPA/JUAN JOSE HORTA

Tomic and Ivo Karlovic will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers and for the second time during this current hard-court stretch. They just faced each other in the Bogota final, with Tomic surviving a 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(4) thriller. The 21-year-old Australian has won all three of their previous encounters, having also benefited from a Benneteau retirement in a 2013 Bangkok match before scoring a 7-6(6), 7-6(3) victory in Paris Masters qualifying.

Neither man fared particularly well in their first post-Bogota tournament. Karlovic played consecutive third-set tiebreaker matches in Washington D.C., outlasting Benoit Paire before going down to Steve Johnson. Tomic took care of Alejandro Gonzalez then fell to Denis Istomin 6-4, 7-6(6). Karlovic, a four-time runner-up on the ATP Tour this season, is playing some of the best tennis of his career at 35 years old. He owns 27 ATP-level wins in 2014 and is in position to be seeded for the U.S. Open at 31st in the world.

An interesting scenario befell Matosevic and Kokkinakis on Sunday in Toronto. The two countrymen were facing each other in the final round of qualifying, with the top-seeded Matosevic already assured of a main-draw spot due to Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal. Kokkinakis led 6-1 in their first-set tiebreaker only to see Matosevic storm back to take it 9-7. Out of nowhere, though, Matosevic retired–sending both men through to the main draw; Kokkinakis as a qualifier and his higher-ranked compatriot as a lucky loser.

Matosevic is facing Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, while Kokkinakis landed a tough draw against Washington, D.C. quarterfinalist Kevin Anderson.

Topics: Atp, Bernard Tomic, Ivo Karlovic, Julien Benneteau, Lleyton Hewitt, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Rogers Cup, Tennis, Tennis News, Vasek Pospisil

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10sBalls_com says:

August 3, 2014 at 9:15 pm

#HEWITT, #TOMIC AMONG FOUR AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON FIRST DAY OF @rogerscupto BY RICKY DIMON @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/OqtgKsmyN5 #tennis
RD_Tennistalk says:

August 3, 2014 at 9:30 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #HEWITT, #TOMIC AMONG FOUR AUSTRALIANS IN ACTION ON FIRST DAY OF @rogerscupto BY RICKY DIMON @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/…