On court
It was the result the crowd came to see with hometown hero Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) in the first of his WTC appearances dominating world No.47 Fernando Verdasco (SPA) 6-3, 6-2 (result)
In the legends matches, recently retired Marion Bartoli (FRA) proved too strong for the incredible Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (SPA) winning 6-2 and Mark Philippoussis (AUS) with youth on his side defeated Mats Wilander (SWE) winning 6-4
The mixed doubles included some fine play by one of the ball kids and some pretty fancy footwork by Philippoussis and Sanchez-Vicario against Wilander and Bartoli with Team Philippoussis taking out the fun fast four format match 4-3, 4-1
Off court
Attendance
A record first night attendance of 4,031 turned out on a beautifully warm summer’s night to enjoy the on court action
So hot…
Big kudos to all players who braved the heat during training this afternoon – the on court temperature was been officially declared as ‘brutally hot’. It’s why they are the legends of the court…..
Thanks for coming…
Lord Mayor Darwin Katrina Fong Lim who was a guest of Cr Natasha Malani, Lachlan Clyne, Mayor of Unley, Andrew Fagan, CEO Crows
Also spotted
Team Lotto – early arrivals for the Tour Down Under taking a break and enjoying the tennis and Kane Cornes on a night off from fighting fires
Bad accent of the day
Fernando Verdasco trying to talk ‘Aussie’ and he hates Vegemite too which pretty much makes him a bona-fide non-Australian
Big hitter – big winner
Mark Philippoussis – 3 of 4 matches won proving he’s still got it in spades!
Stylish bunch
Did you know both Marion Bartoli and Mark Philippoussis have fashion lines with new ranges out soon
We’re out there
The WTC is being broadcast to over 100 countries this year and will have a highlights package on 7Two the following day. ESPN is broadcasting nationally
Schedules, draws and results
All available on line at http://worldtennischallenge.com/results/completed-matches
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