Lleyton Hewitt faced off against a fellow former warrior whose career has also suffered a slide, emerging with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 victory on Monday over Juan Carlos Ferrero in a first-round match at the Montreal Masters.
Each of them held the No. 1 ranking briefly during the peak period of their reign earlier this century.
Australia's Hewitt, ranked 21st, was playing on North American hardcourts for on the first time since March.
PHOTO: AP
He said that times have changed since his prime in 2001 and 2002 when he lifted US Open and Wimbledon trophies.
"A lot more players getting better," Hewitt said. "We probably took it to another level, then Roger [Federer] has taken it to another level again."
"A lot of things have changed," he said.
Hewitt, 26, said that his run of injuries in the past season has contributed to his slide, while 17th-ranked Spaniard Ferrero has also had his worries.
"He had the chickenpox and had a few bad injuries, which were tough to come back from," Hewitt said. "He can match it with the best players."
Even the optimistic Aussie admits that Federer and No. 2 Rafael Nadal stand a huge step ahead of the chasing pack.
"They're not going to get any worse," Hewitt said. "Guys are going to have to step up to the plate, play a lot better week in and week out.
"Those guys are so good because they bring their `A' game every week," he said. "Very rarely do they have a bad match."
The Australian won a hardcourt title in Las Vegas, then lost in Indian Wells before going home injured for two months.
Hewitt is making a comeback without the presence of new coach Tony Roche, who is at home in Sydney awaiting the birth of a grandchild. Hewitt now leads Ferrero 6-3 in their career series.
Tenth seed Tomas Berdych took the week's first upset loss, and then admitted that the match-fixing drama surrounding Nikolay Davydenko was worse than any doping controversy.
The Czech, on court for the first time in five months, was beaten by Dutch qualifier Robin Haase 6-4, 7-5.
Davydenko, fifth in the world, was cited for a suspicious mid-match injury withdrawal last week in Poland.
The Association of Tennis Professionals launched an investigation after online betting on the second-round contest was halted due to a flood of US$7 million to eventual winner Martin Vassallo-Arguello of Argentina.
Davydenko quit in the third set with a foot injury. Online agency Betfair refused to pay out on the match, citing money flowing at 10 times the normal amount.
Berdych was among association players who listened at a Miami players meeting last spring as reformed former Mafia boss Michael Franzese explained the diabolical consequences of match-fixing.
"I think this is much worse ... than the doping," Berdych said.
"Imagine if you have a situation that they come to you and they give you the offer with money and tell you: `If you lose this match, you gonna get whatever,'" he said.
"It happens once, and they're gonna come again another tournament and you're going to say: `No, I don't want to do it, I'm going to play,'" he said.
"Then the problem starts," he said.
India's Sania Mirza celebrated her move into the top 30 in the world rankings on Monday with a first-round triumph over Alexsandra Woznia in the US$600,000 East West Bank Classic.
Mirza moved up a notch to No. 30 in the rankings released on Monday after reaching the quarter-finals of a tournament in San Diego last week.
She completed the opening day of play at the Home Depot Center with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Canadian qualifier Wozniak.
Austrian Sybille Bammer, who broke into the top 20 in the rankings on Monday at No. 20, also advanced, defeating US player Laura Granville 6-4, 6-2.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
Playing soccer and competing for trophies is the best way that many transplanted Hong Kongers and Macanese have found to stay in touch, and to interact with Taiwanese society, said officials at the Taiwan-Hong Kong-Macau Football Friendship Cup, which was held on April 13. Twelve clubs, mostly of players and coaches originally from Hong Kong and Macau, took part in the tournament in New Taipei City. The event is sponsored by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council. Participating teams were from the wider Taipei area, Hsinchu, Taichung, Kaohsiung and other areas. They divided into two