Longtime rivals Lleyton Hewitt and Roger Federer met in the final of the Australian Open tune-up event in Brisbane.
Entering the 2014 season, Grand Slam champions Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt, both 33, were at two comparatively different points in their careers, while maintaining some similarities. Federer, who entered the year ranked No. 6 in the world, had lost his longtime spot in the top 5 in 2013. Meanwhile, Hewitt—who had been dogged by injuries of late—started his campaign with the number 60 in front of his name on the rankings list.
Kicking off things at the tournament in Brisbane, the two worked their way through to the final with Federer, the top seed, dropping only one set on his way to the championship match. Hewitt, meanwhile, put on a vintage performance throughout the week. One of Australia’s all-time greats, the former world No. 1 beat Feliciano Lopez and Kei Nishikori en route to the title bout against Federer for their first final against each other in four years, which was won by Hewitt.
Back in 1999, two 18-year-old future Hall of Famers faced off in the second round of the indoor tournament in Lyon, with Hewitt defeating Federer in three sets on his way to the title. That match kicked off some classic encounters over the years, with Federer eventually gaining an 18-8 lead in their head-to-head meetings.
In the first set of the Brisbane final, Hewitt turned back the clock going up 2-0 in five minutes, playing sharp right from the start while Federer struggled. The Swiss, who hadn’t dropped serve all week, would get broken three times as Hewitt took the opener 6-1.
The second set saw Federer shore up his game and the two stayed on serve early on. With Federer serving at 4-3, Hewitt earned a break point that would have put him a game away from the title. Federer held, then finally broke Hewitt to take a 5-4 lead. With his serve having picked up, Federer closed out the second 6-4 to level the match.
In the third, Federer earned some early chances to keep his momentum going, but displaying his legendary grit, Hewitt fought them off and took a 4-1 lead of his own. Maintaining his advantage from that point on, Hewitt closed out the match serving at 5-3 to capture his first title in nearly four years before the home crowd.
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This was Hewitt’s second career win against Federer in a final, the first coming in 2010 in Halle. Federer won their other three championship matches.
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Of his 29 titles, this was Hewitt’s eighth in Australia, and his first since 2005 when he won in Sydney.
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Federer’s last title Down Under to this point came in 2010, when he won the Australian Open over Andy Murray. Among Federer’s other victims that year was Hewitt, whom he defeated in the fourth round.
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