MELBOURNE – Frenchman Gael Monfils will have the inside track on Lleyton Hewitt as he lines up against the Australian in Saturday’s final at the Kooyong Classic. The athletic Monfils booked his place in the deciding match at the eight-man pre-Australian Open tuneup as he beat Roland Garros semi-finalist Jurgen Melzer 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) Friday.
Earlier, Australia’s former world number one Hewitt overcame Russian Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 7-6 (7/3). Monfils is coached by Roger Rasheed, former Australian mentor to Hewitt and a man unlikely to hold back any secrets about the Hewitt game.
In earlier play after rain spoiled Thursday’s programme and the early part of Friday, Melzer defeated 2010 Kooyong finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 8-6 in a pro set to open his weather-delayed account at the event. The abbreviated match produces a winner in a format where the first player to reach eight games with a margin of two games takes the victory. Hewitt, whose best performance at the Australian Open was reaching the final in 2005, said that with his game ticking over nicely, facing Nalbandian held no special fears.
The feisty Australian leads the series 3-2, including wins at Wimbledon and in the Australian Open. But he lost to Nalbandian in the Davis Cup six years ago. “There are no easy draws out there,” said Hewitt, now ranked 54th in the world. “I’ll be ready for the first round, Nalbandian or not. We’ve played each other in some big matches.”
