At Queen’s, Hewitt Gets A Double Whammy

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 17th June 2013

At Queen’s, Hewitt Gets A Double Whammy

epa03746031 Australia's Lleyton Hewitt returns to Croatia's Martin Cilic during their semi final match for the Aegon Championships at the Queen's Club in London, Britain, 15 June 2013. EPA/BOGDAN MARAN |

Lleyton Hewitt suffered a double weekend disappointment as he not only lost his semi-final at Queen’s club but went down in a match which was switched midway through from one court to another at the pre-Wimbledon tune-up event.

Hewitt, a four-time Queen’s champion, was beaten in a rain-interrupted contest by holder Marin Cilic 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 after the match which began after rain at 3 p.m. resumed on a side court more than two hours later.

Hewitt and Cilic were switched so that homeboy Andy Murray’s match with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga could start on centre court to please the bookies at the posh west London club.

Aussie Hewitt thought the situation was botched from start to finish. “If you’re going to go on a weather forecast, then, you should have probably scheduled us (both semis) at the same times and we would have been happy to play on Court 1.

“We were told early on today when we were about to go on that we could be on and off five or ten minutes a lot of times today. If you’re going to do that, then you’re going one with the forecast, but then later on you’re calling it because tomorrow it could be average, change the whole schedule and put you on a different court to what you started on, which was ridiculous.”

Hewitt blamed the ATP for poor communication with the players in matches eventually won by Cilic and Murray. “I just don’t think you can go off a forecast. They had 16 different forecasts going today from 16 different places, and they all had a different forecast.

“That’s the tough thing when you get to the pointy end of a tournament.”