Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt gave Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov a grasscourt masterclass in a second-round victory at the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old Australian needed little more than an hour to win 6-4, 6-3 as 10th seed Dimitrov struggled to cope with his formidable grasscourt skills.
Second seed Tomas Berdych, playing his first match since a first-round defeat at the French Open, eased past Dutchman Thiemo de Bakker 6-1, 6-4 in a match interrupted by rain.
Dimitrov, 22, who was watched by girlfriend Maria Sharapova during his first-round match on Tuesday, never got close to Hewitt's serve and did not manufacture a single break point.
"I thought I played a really smart match," Hewitt said. "My first match here wasn't pretty, but I fought hard and got through it. That's what I needed to do. Then today it was a classy performance."
Hewitt, bidding for a fifth title at the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event, will face American 2010 champion Sam Querrey in the third round.
Top seed Andy Murray was scheduled to play his first grasscourt match since winning Olympic gold at Wimbledon last year later on Wednesday.
The world number two is up against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut who beat him at the tournament last year.
Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
© 2024 Rediff.com -