Hewitt, Chela Make Winning Returns

After missing last year’s US Open due to injury, past champion Lleyton Hewitt made a resounding return Monday, opening with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 win over Brazilian Thiago Alves to earn his 40th match win at Flushing Meadows.

Hewitt limited his opponent to eight points total in the opening set, and broke Alves twice in each of the following sets to close out the match in one hour and 50 minutes.

The two-time former ATP World Tour Champion reached the quarter-finals or better in seven straight US Open appearances from 2000-06, highlighted by his first Grand Slam title in 2001 (d. Sampras) and a runner-up finish to Roger Federer in 2004. He made his earliest US Open exit two years ago, when he fell to Argentine Agustin Calleri in the second round.

The 28 year old briefly slipped outside the Top 100 earlier this season upon his return from last August’s left hip surgery, but has since moved up to No. 32 coming into the US Open. He won the Houston in April and reached the quarter-finals at Wimbledon (l. to Roddick).

Hewitt will next meet Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela, whom he has beaten in four of their six meetings. The 30-year-old Chela, a former World No. 15, also missed last year’s US Open after being sidelined with a herniated disc injury and returned Monday to defeat Spaniard Oscar Hernandez 6-4, 6-4, 6-2. In 2007, Chela had reached the US Open quarter-finals (l. to Ferrer).

In other matches Monday, German No. 23 seed Philipp Kohlschreiber defeated Italian Andreas Seppi 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 and Frenchman Marc Gicquel got by Russian Dmitry Tursunov 6-2, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.