London - One-time Wimbledon standouts Andy Roddick and
Lleyton Hewitt re-lived the past with solid victories to move into
the second week on Saturday.
They were joined by British hero Andy Murray, as the third seed
thrashed Serb Viktor Troicki 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to next face Swiss Stan
Wawrinka who put out American Jesse Levine 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, 6-3.
Sixth seed Roddick, who lost finals in 2004 and 2005 to Roger
Federer, reached Monday's forth round over Austrian Jurgen Melzer 7-6
(7-2), 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3, earning his 31st win at the event.
The unseeded Hewitt, 2002 champion, hammered German Philipp
Petzschner 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 as the Australian advanced to the
latter stages for the sixth straight year.
Roddick earned his ninth win without a loss against Melzer, with
the American putting over 33 aces against 26 for the Austrian in the
high-voltage match.
Hewitt, now ranked 56th after coming back form 2008 hip surgery,
next faces Czech Radek Stepanek, who beat 16th seed David Ferrer 7-5,
7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 but was flying his doctor in from Prague to try
and sort out a knee problem which almost forced him to quit.
Hewitt, 28, said that at his current level, getting into the
business end of a slam is important.
'When you're at the top of your game and you're number one, you
kind of take a round of 16s of slams for granted. When you're
unseeded, it's not always that easy to get the easy draw to come
through and make the second week.
'That's what's pleasing this week, coming through against worthy
opponents. Not dropping a set so far is nice, as well.'
German Tommy Haas, 31, a one-time world number two who has
undergone multiple shoulder operations, finished of a thriller held
over in the fifth set due to darkness, defeating 11th seed Marin
Cilic, 7-5, 7-5, 1-6, 6-7 (3-7), 10-8.
Haas had a late-night Indian takeaway at his rented house after
undergoing physiotherapy on his tired 29-year-old body Friday night.
'While that was going on, we were listening to all the great
legendary songs from Michael Jackson,' he added.
Two teenaged women felled seeds, with German 19-year-old Sabine
Lisicki toppling French Open winner Svetlana Kuznetsova, the number
five, 6-2, 7-5.
American Melanie Oudin, ranked 124, produced another shock when
she stunned former number one and sixth seed Jelena Jankovic 6-7
(8-10), 7-5, 6-2.
Jankovic came to the new Court 3 against the 17-year-old from
Atlanta complaining of illness and was seen by the trainer during
contest which stretched for almost three hours as she became the
highest seed to exit so far.
'After the first set, I felt really dizzy, and I thought that I
was just gonna end up in the hospital,' said the noted Serbian drama
queen. 'I started to shake. I was losing my ... how you say ...
consciousness.
'I didn't know if I was gonna fall down and just (leave the court)
in an ambulance. But I started to feel a little bit better.'
Five-time champion Venus Williams defeated Spain's Carla Suarez
Navarro 6-0, 6-4 and next plays former French Open holder Ana
Ivanovic, as the 13th seed ended the run of Australian Sam Stosur
7-5, 6-2.
Williams and Ivanovic will next meet for the sixth time in their
careers, with the American standing 5-1, her lone loss coming at the
Melbourne quarter-finals last year.
There were also wins for top seed Dinara Safina over Kirsten
Flipkens 7-5, 6-1, ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki, number 11 Agnieszka
Radwanska and 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo, who beat 15th seed
Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-3.
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