Miami, Mar 30: Lleyton Hewitt struggled to find his service rhythm throughout the match and his misery was compounded by his inability to cope with Pavel's powerful groundstrokes. "He played well but I felt like I didn't quite take my opportunities when I had them," said the Australian 17th seed. "I put myself into a position where I had to try to claw my way out and I wasn't quite able to do that... it's a little bit disappointing." Hewitt served 10 double faults during the match, the most costly of which came on Pavel's fifth match-point.

After going a set and 4-2 down, Hewitt appeared poised to pull of one of his trademark comebacks when he broke back for 4-5. However, his serve faltered again as Pavel completed a memorable victory.

Bureau Report