Australia's Lleyton Hewitt kisses his trophy after defeating Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro in the final of the Kooyong Classic in Melbourne, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Hewitt beats del Potro to win Kooyong exhibition
Published: 08:08:14 AM, Sat 12 January 2013 UTC
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt warmed up for his 17th Australian Open with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Juan Martin del Potro on Saturday in the final of the Kooyong classic invitational exhibition tournament.
The 31-year-old Hewitt won the tournament, a traditional warmup for the season's first major, for the second time in three years and said "I hit the ball as well as I have in a long time."
Hewitt has a tough first-round match at the Australian Open against No. 8-seeded Janko Tipsarevic on Monday night. The veteran Australian has won the U.S. Open and Wimbledon, but only once reached the final of his home major.
Saturday's win over No. 7-ranked del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, followed wins over Tomas Berdych and Milos Raonic.
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