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Lleyton Hewitt wins ATP Hall of Fame Championships

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt defeated second seed Ivo Karlovic 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3) on Monday morning to win the ATP Hall of Fame Championships.

After runner-up finishes the past two years, Hewitt finally captured the Hall of Fame title, although it took a two and a half hour battle after the Australian faltered while serving for the match in the second set and squandered two match points on Karlovic's serve.

Third seed Hewitt took the top prize in windy conditions for his 30th career ATP title, his second of the season after a January crown at Brisbane, and an eighth career ATP grass-court championship.

It was a breakthrough triumph for Hewitt after falling to US star John Isner in the 2012 Newport final and to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut last year.

Hewitt, now 8-2 in ATP grass-court finals, had been 7-0 in such matches before dropping those matches.

"It was obviously very tough the last couple of years," Hewitt said. "Last year I served for it as well. That just makes it more gratifying."

Hewitt has undergone five surgeries in five years to continue his career.

"We've had some tough times with surgeries the last few years," Hewitt said. "But it's nice to know that all that hard work has paid off."

Karlovic, 35, and Hewitt, 33, met in the oldest ATP final showdown so far this season and the oldest since the event was first staged in 1976.

In the third set, Hewitt never managed a break point but denied Karlovic three times on break points to force a tie-breaker that ended with the Aussie taking five of the final six points, the last when Karlovic send a forehand long.

"Just had to focus on what I needed to do," Hewitt said. "I was just focusing on trying to hold serve in the third set. It was a tough match. I was really happy to get through."


Karlovic made his comeback from viral meningitis at this event a year ago after being in a coma and saw the runner-up effort as an achievement.

"Last year when I was in the hospital I didn't know if I would be able to do this again," Karlovic said. "To be here and do this now it's an unbelievable feeling."
Hewitt holds off Karlovic to force final set tie-breaker

Karlovic, 35, and Hewitt, 33, met in the oldest ATP final showdown so far this season and the oldest since the event was first staged in 1976.

In the third set, Hewitt never managed a break point but denied Karlovic three times on break points to force a final tie-breaker, which ended with the Aussie taking five of the final six points, the last when Karlovic send a forehand long.

Hewitt, who has undergone five surgeries in the past five years to continue his career, broke the Croatian in the ninth game to claim the first set in just 33 minutes.

Karlovic took only 5-of-17 second-serve points while Hewitt dropped only three points on his serve in the opening set.

Hewitt, ranked 12 spots below his rival at 43rd in the world, exchanged early breaks with Karlovic in the second set.

In the eighth game, Hewitt smashed a cross-court backhand winner in front of Karlovic broke for a 5-3 lead and served for the match.

But in the same situation he faced a year earlier when he lost, Hewitt faltered again, double faulting two points from the title and then missing a backhand to surrender a break.

Hewitt managed two match points on Karlovic's serve in the 12th game, but they were saved with a service winner and an ace, setting up the tie-breaker in which Karlovic won the last three points to force a third set.

Karlovic lost for a third time in his third final of the year, having fallen to Japan's Kei Nishikori at Memphis in February and German Philipp Kohlschreiber in May at Dusseldorf.

Karlovic has not won an ATP title since claiming the fifth of his career last July in Colombia, which ended a win drought of more than five years.

Hewitt, the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon champion, won for the second time in six meetings with Karlovic, who notably eliminated the Aussie defending champion in the first round at Wimbledon in 2003.

Hewitt turned the tables by beating Karlovic in the first round of the 2009 French Open, his only win in the rivalry until Monday.