WASHINGTON, 20 August 2004 — Lleyton Hewitt further polished his form on hardcourt with the US Open drawing near, earning a 6-3, 6-2 second-round win Wednesday against Colombian Alejandro Falla at the 500,000 Washington Open.
The second-seeded Australian took a step close to a possible finals re-match Sunday against top seed Andre Agassi, who defeated him earlier this month for the title in Cincinnati.
Agassi, an eight-times Grand Slam champion, makes his bid for the quarterfinals alongside Hewitt when he faces Dane Kristian Pless at an event he’s won five times in 15 years.
Hewitt claimed his 45th win of 2004 against the inexperienced South American, who won his first career hardcourt match here in the first round over Justin Gimelstob.
Hewitt, the 2001 US Open champion, will next face Frenchman Cyril Saulnier, who put out Belgian Gilles Elseneer 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
Saulnier reached his fifth quarterfinal of the season as he improved his 2004 record to 20-16.
The 29-year-old said he’s looking forward to matching up against the Aussie.
Hewitt and Falla exchanged four breaks in the first six games before settling, with the second-seeded former world number one breaking for 5-3 and claiming the set a game later.
Hewitt raced away to 4-1 in the second set, but dropped serve in the sixth game before again breaking back and closing it out a game later.
Hewitt, ranked eighth, has not lifted a title in six months, when he won Rotterdam.
Dutchman Raemon Sluiter, kept out of the Olympics despite meeting qualifying standards by a controversial federation decision, gained some satisfaction through an upset of Spain’s sixth seed Alberto Martin 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 7-6 (7-2).
