Moya fighting to save his Open bid
 |
Hewitt triumphs in Sydney after Moya's misfortune
Story Tools
|
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- Carlos Moya still hopes to play in next week's Australian Open despite quitting Saturday's Sydney International final against Lleyton Hewitt through injury.
The Spaniard was taken to hospital after rolling his right ankle in the first set, forcing him to retire at 3-4 and hand the title to the Australian.
X-rays allayed initial fears that he may have broken his ankle and an ATP tennis official later confirmed that Moya had a bad sprain.
Moya, who has emerged as one of the leading candidates for the Australian Open after winning last week's Indian Open and reaching the Sydney final, collapsed in agony during the seventh game of the opening set.
He made a vain attempt to continue after strapping the ankle with protective tape but it was clear he was still in pain and he retired after just four more points.
"I wanted to try but I couldn't even walk....it's disappointing but these things happen in tennis," said Moya
"I was playing very well, I was very confident and the match was pretty open so it was a pity to end it this way."
Moya, Australian Open runner-up in 1997, is scheduled to play American James Blake in the first round in Melbourne on Monday.
Hewitt more than happy
Meanwhile, Hewitt captured the Sydney title for the third time in four years and said: "I felt my game had gone up a notch today even though it was only seven games."
Hewitt was ranked number one in the world for two years but slipped back to 16th last season after failing to add to his tally of two grand slam titles.
The 20-year-old took a break after the Davis Cup semifinals in September returning to help Australia win the final and said the rest had revitalised him.
Unbeaten in eight singles matches this year, Hewitt said he was now ideally placed for a big showing at the Melbourne grand slam.
"I'm playing pretty well at the moment. I've trained extremely hard and I prepared myself as well as I could," he said. " I'm executing as well as I could hope going into the first grand slam."
Despite winning the U.S. Open and Wimbledon crowns, Hewitt has never made it past the fourth round of the Australian Open in seven previous attempts.
