Australia’s former world number one Lleyton Hewitt made an early exit from the French Open on Monday, beaten in four sets by unheralded Slovenian Blaz Kavcic. Two-time Grand Slam title winner Hewitt, 31, came here as a wildcard entry with little to lose having undergone radical foot surgery in February in a bid to prolong his career.
But despite occasional glimpses of his lingering top-drawer abilities, he was unable to prevent a 6-7 (2/7), 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 3-6 defeat in 3hr 50min as Kavcic earned the privilege of trying to topple world number one Novak Djokovic in round two, assuming the Serb later ousted Potito Starace of Italy. Former Wimbledon and US Open champion Hewitt arrived at Roland Garros with two screws and a metal plate locking permanently into place in the big toe on his left foot to fight against arthritis.
