Smyczek Upsets Top-Seeded Querrey at Hall of Fame Tennis Championships
American Tim Smyczek has advanced the second round of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships after upsetting top-seeded Sam Querrey, 6-4, 7-6 (8). The 25-year-old Smyczek, who has 11 tour-level wins, called it one of his biggest victories.
"It’s pretty neat to play Sam," said the Milwaukee native Smyczek . "He’s been one of the top Americans for a long time, and somebody I’ve tried to catch up to, so it means a lot for me to have gone out there and played well and come away with a win."
Newport’s 2012 Runner Up Lleyton Hewitt defeated fellow Australian Matt Ebden to advance to the second round as well. The former world number one, who came into Newport last summer ranked at 233, is ranked a season-high 64th.
"I made a massive improvement in the week I was here last year, and I got a lot more confident with the matches I played back-to-back," said Hewitt. "I went to the Olympics straight after here and played fantastic, played as well as I played in a long time. That got my year back on track."
Fans and fellow players were delighted to see Croatian Ivo Karlovic back in action, following a break since April due to viral meningitis. Karlovic was back in winning form, firing 22 aces to defeat fifth-seeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(5), 6-4. Karlovic was, of course, glad to be back on court again as well, tweeting from @ivokarlovic, "It felt so good just to play a match again."
Results (July 9, 2013)
Singles – First Round
T. Smyczek (USA) d [1] S. Querrey (USA) 6-4, 7-6(8)
[3] I. Sijsling (NED) d M. Viola (ITA) 6-4, 6-1
[4] L. Hewitt (AUS) d M. Ebden (AUS) 6-4, 6-1
I. Karlovic (CRO) d [5] E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 7-6(5), 6-4
J. Sock (USA) d [6] M. Matosevic (AUS) 6-2, 0-0 Retired
[Q] A. Kuznetsov (USA) d [7] K. De Schepper (FRA) 6-3, 6-4
[8] R. Ram (USA) d [Q] A. Bossel (SUI) 6-2, 6-2
[WC] N. Mahut (FRA) d R. Williams (USA) 6-2, 6-4
M. Russell (USA) d I. Marchenko (UKR) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
[Q] J. Hernych (CZE) d [Q] A. Pavic (CRO) 7-6(6), 6-3
[WC] P. Amritraj (IND) d F. Cipolla (ITA) 6-2, 6-3
V. Pospisil (CAN) d D. Kudla (USA) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Play (Wednesday, July 10)
Center Court
J. Sock (USA) vs. [Q] J. Hernych (CZE)
[WC] P. Amritraj (IND) vs. [4] L. Hewitt (AUS)
A. Mannarino (FRA) vs. [2] J. Isner (USA)
T. Smyczek (USA) vs. [WC] N. Mahut (FRA)
Court 1
I. Karlovic (CRO) vs. V. Pospisil (CAN)
M. Przysiezny (POL) vs. [8] R. Ram (USA)
I. Marchenko (UKR) & D. Molchanov (UKR) vs. I. Karlovic (CRO) & D. Sharan (IND)
[3] J. Blake (USA) & R. Ram (USA) vs. A. Shamasdin (CAN) & J. Smith (AUS)
C. Guccione (AUS) & L. Hewitt (AUS) vs. [4] M. Demoliner (BRA) & A. Sa (BRA)
Court 2
[3] I. Sijsling (NED) vs. Y. Sugita (JPN)
M. Russell (USA) vs. [Q] A. Kuznetsov (USA)
M. Ebden (AUS) & I. Sijsling (NED) vs. Alternate & Unknown
R. Bemelmans (BEL) & M. Przysiezny (POL) vs. [WC] P. Amritraj (IND) & S. Querrey (USA)
[1] S. Gonzalez (MEX) & S. Lipsky (USA) vs. D. Kudla (USA) & M. Russell (USA)
