Tipsarevic Rises to Hewitt's Challenge in First Night Session

Janko Tipsarevic capped off a busy Day 1 at the Australian Open by sending Lleyton Hewitt packing. Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych also were victorious.

By Chris Oddo

(January 14, 2013) -- If his 7-6(4), 7-5, 6-3 decision over Aussie hero Lleyton Hewitt is any indication, Janko Tipsarevic could be in for his best Australian Open yet.

Having never been past the third round in Melbourne, the 28-year-old Serb brushed aside the challenge of Hewitt in this highly anticipated match by being opportunistic in the first two sets and downright ruthless in the third.

"I think it's as tough as it gets, to play Lleyton first round here," said a relieved Tipsarevic in his post-match interview with Jim Courier after the three hour and two minute affair.

After taking the first set in a tiebreaker, Tipsarevic found himself in trouble against Hewitt in the second set. He fell behind 3-0, two breaks down, but managed a furious rally to steal the set and momentum from the surly Aussie.

"I think I played a very, very good almost a little bit crazy game on 3-0," said Tipsarevic "and I guess I was lucky because I was able to use my chances and Lleyton didn't. I think the first two sets could have gone either way, and in the third set I felt I was having more control of the match."

Seemingly aware of the challenges that a player like Hewitt can pose on a night like this, in front of his faithful Aussie supporters and fueled by the emotion that has become his calling card over the years, Tipsarevic played with a shrewd sense of urgency in the third set. It was if he knew that if he left a window open for Hewitt he might never be able to close it.

After the pair traded breaks in the third set, a determined, in-form Tipsarevic closed out the match by sweeping the final three games.

“Frustration, disappointment, they are the first feelings,” said Hewitt afterwards. “I was pretty happy with my ball striking, I moved pretty well, so I’m just frustrated with the result.”

The loss may have stung, but a first-round fallout at his home Slam for the Australian at this junction of his career comes as no surprise. It was Hewitt's third first-round loss in Melbourne in the last five years, and. strange as it seems, the Adelaide, Australia native has only gone beyond the Australian Open's fourth round on one occasion in his career.

In 2005, Hewitt finished runner-up to Marat Safin, losing in four sets to the Russian in the final.

Tipsarevic will face Lukas Lacko of Slovakia in the second round.

In other Day 1 men’s singles action, Novak Djokovic won his 15th consecutive match in Melbourne over Paul-Henri Mathieu of France, 6-2, 6-4, 7-5. The Serb is bidding to become the first player in Open Era history to win three consecutive titles in Melbourne.

Fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych defeated American Michael Russell in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, but the news wasn’t all bad for the Americans on Monday in Melbourne.

20th-seeded Sam Querrey, Brian Baker and Ryan Harrison each advanced.

Querrey will face Baker in the second round, while Harrison will face Djokovic.

In other action, 22nd seed Fernando Verdasco outlasted David Goffin of Belgium in five sets, and 21-year-old Andrey Kuznetsov of Russia upset 11th-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina in straight sets for his first career Grand Slam victory.

(Photo Credit: AP)