Australian tennis stars Lleyton Hewitt and Bernard Tomic both dropped out of the Australian Open first round on Tuesday.
Tomic was forced to retire from his match-up against Rafael Nadal after the 21-year-old dropped the opening set 6-4 in 42 minutes of action.
The 21-year-old Tomic appeared to be struggling with a groin issue and as a result received it from fickle Aussie fans, but took the high road by acknowledging them with a raised hand and an “I’m sorry”.
“It was sad, it’s unfortunate,” said Tomic of the fans’ disappointment.”This opportunity I had to play against Rafa was huge for me.
“Unfortunately, I couldn’t compete. It was very difficult for me to say sorry to the crowd. I don’t think they quite knew what was wrong with me.
“I feel sorry because the crowd came and it was difficult for me. I did what’s best for me. The crowd have to understand that.”
Earlier Tuesday, Lleyton Hewitt faltered in a remarkable five-set thriller against 24th-seed Andreas Seppi, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 5-7, 5-7, 7-5.
The magic of Hewitt’s run into the Open- including wins over Roger Federer and Andy Murray- dried up in the over 40-degree temperature as the veteran failed to bring home the four-hour encounter in his 18th consecutive Australian Open.
On the back foot after having handed over a two-set advantage, Seppi saved match point serving down 4-5 with the resulting hanging in a 30-40.
The soon-to-be 33-year-old’s trademark comeback kicked in after losing the opening two sets and his first service game of the third set. Hewitt was able to bring his Australian fans once again to frenzy during the dramatic final stages, and hopefully not for the last time at the tournament.
Another Aussie hopeful, Marinko Matosevic, fell to Japan’s Kei Nishikori in a five-set marathon, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The world No.54’s torrid production at grands slams continued, where he is yet to register a win in 12 attempts.
James Duckworth came against the sixth-seed Federer and wasn’t able to provide much resistance.
The wildcard entrant failed to match his form in the previous two Australian opens, this time losing in the first round 6-4 6-4 6-2.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for our Aussies- teenager Nick Kyrgios claimed his second Grand Slam victory over German Benjamin Becker.
The 18-year-old world No. 486 prevailed despite battling the heat and a shoulder issue to win 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) and advance into the second round where he will face 25th-seed Benoit Paire.
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