DELRAY BEACH, Fla.(AP) Lleyton Hewitt lost on his 28th birthday, falling to eighth-seeded Lu Yen-Hsun 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 Tuesday in the first round of the Delray Beach International Tennis Championships.
The 59th-ranked Lu handled the wind better than Hewitt, who planned to have a birthday cake on court if he won the match.
A two-time Grand Slam champion, Hewitt had left hip surgery in August. Despite the loss, the Australian was pleased with reaching the semifinals last week in Memphis, Tenn.
I'm pretty happy with the way I played last week,'' said Hewitt, who won the 1999 Delray Beach title.I'm trying to play more tournaments to get into the routine to playing back-to-back matches. Obviously, it's going to take time to get back to your best after any kind of surgery.''
Hewitt failed to take advantage of a break point in the opening game before cruising in the second set. In the third, Hewitt recouped an early service break in the 18-point fifth game, but lost the next three games.
It's really tough conditions for everybody,'' said Lu, of Taiwan, about the wind.I was just a little bit better. I didn't feel any pressure because he's one of the best players in the world, so I just played my best tennis.''
Seventh-seeded Jeremy Chardy of France outlasted 2006 Delray champion Tommy Haas of Germany 7-6 (7), 6-3. Qualifier Evgeny Korolev upset fellow Russian and fourth-seeded Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 7-6 (3).
Tour veteran Vince Spadea rallied from 2-6, 0-3 down to defeat Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.