UPDATE 6.05pm: Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt has failed to progress past the second round of the Brisbane International, going down to big-hitting Uzbek Denis Istomin 7-5, 7-5 on Pat Rafter Arena.
Lleyton Hewitt bowed out of the Brisbane International after falling in straight sets to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin in the second round on Thursday.
World No.83 Hewitt missed out on a potential quarter-final showdown with reigning US Open champion Andy Murray by going down 7-5 7-5.
The 31-year-old Hewitt had the crowd on their feet when he saved three consecutive break points at the beginning of the second set before breaking Istomin’s serve to lead 3-2.
But world No.43 Istomin broke back straight away before clinching the result with 11 aces.
“Just didn’t take my chances,” Hewitt said.
“I just felt like nothing really went right.
“It was sort of one of those matches where I just tried scrapping around and trying to hang in there for as long as I could.
“I still had opportunities. Even at 5-all in the second set, I fought hard to stay in the second set.
“Then at 5-all, I had break point and nearly came up with that and hit the tape and bounced back – just one of those days.”
Istomin, 26, will play top seed Murray or Australian qualifier John Millman in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria upset second seed Milos Raonic of Canada 6-3 6-4 in their second-round clash.
And seventh-seeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer downed Belgian David Goffin on Thursday 6-4 7-6 (7-4).
Hewitt will turn his attention to next week’s Kooyong Classic that will also feature former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro ahead of the Australian Open.
Meanwhile, Brazilian Marcelo Melo and Spaniard Tommy Robredo have pulled off the biggest men’s doubles upset of the day downing second-seeded Brits Colin Fleming and Jamie Murray in straight sets 7-6(2), 6-4 to reach the semifinals.
Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen has recovered from the migraine which forced him to retire mid-match against Alexandr Dolgopolov on Wednesday night, teaming with Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis to down Colombian pair Alejandro Falla and Santiago Giraldo 6-4, 6-4 in just under an hour.