Lleyton Hewitt Falls Short Against Gael Monflis at ATP Masters

(Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt was beaten by Gael Monflis in the second round of the ATP Masters Event in Shanghai.

Hewitt had appeared to be back to somewhere near his best in the first round when he demolished the big serving American John Isner, but he was not able to repeat the dose against Monflis.

Hewitt started the match well, winning the first set 6-4, but Monflis won the second set 6-4 to force the match into a third and deciding set. That is when the Frenchman proved to be far too strong, winning 6-2.

Hewitt took the tennis world by storm when he won Wimbledon as a 21-year-old in 2002. The Australian went on to finish that year as the world No. 1 and he won the season-ending Masters Cup—which was ironically held in Shanghai. While this is a good win for Monflis, it is hard to see the 11th seed upsetting the Betting Odds and winning the title.

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