Warsaw, Poland, 14 September 2013 | AAP
Poland’s plans to run Lleyton Hewitt ragged fell flat as Lukasz Kubot likened facing the Australian tennis legend in Davis Cup to hitting against a wall.
World No.70 Kubot simply had no answers as Hewitt gave Australia the perfect start in the World Group Play-off tie in Warsaw on Friday.
Despite Kubot’s renowned strong return game, Hewitt did not drop serve in an emphatic 6-1 6-3 6-2 victory on clay, one of his finest Davis Cup performances.
Kubot, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, said after the match he wanted to tire the 32-year-old Hewitt, who will back up for Saturday’s doubles alongside Chris Guccione.
“My main task today was to keep Lleyton on the court for as long as possible. I didn’t succeed,” Kubot said.
“I felt like I was hitting against a wall. He just played too well.”
Hewitt, Australia’s most capped and successful Davis Cup player, improved his singles win-loss record in the competition to 40-13.
He also backed up his impressive run to the last 16 at the US Open, which featured an upset of sixth seed Juan Martin del Potro.
“It shows that his US Open run was not a random success,” Kubot said.
“He is in great shape. He played fantastic – that’s all I can say today. I played against a wall, really.”
Hewitt said after his win he was desperate to help Australia return to the competition’s top tier for the first time since 2007.
And he suggested it would set up the final phase of his career perfectly.
“For me, personally, it’s a massive thing,” Hewitt said.
“I’d love to to play the World Group more than anything one last time. It’s one of the main reasons I’m still playing.”
