Del Potro stunned

FROM AGENCY REPORTS
Posted on 2009-06-26
LONDON: Lleyton Hewitt returned to his old stomping ground at Wimbledon’s Centre Court on Thursday to score the biggest upset in the men’s draw so far with a 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 win over fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro.
Australian Hewitt, ranked 56 in the world after a series of injuries but champion here in 2002, never allowed the Argentine an inch of breathing space with superb ground coverage and made the most of his opponent’s discomfort at the net. Del Potro, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last month, had his left knee taped up at the end of the first set after a nasty slip, and Hewitt, who won the opener in 45 minutes, rammed home his advantage.
American sixth seed Andy Roddick overcame a mid-match stutter to beat Russia’s Igor Kunitsyn 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and book a place in the third round on Thursday. Women’s top seed Dinara Safina blasted her way into the third round with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Paraguay’s Rossana De Los Rios.
Safina, the world number one but still chasing her first grand slam crown, used a mix of powerful serving and superior groundstrokes to unseat the South American, ranked 99 places beneath her.
Her compatriot and French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova was pleased to get her second round match at Wimbledon out of the way early on Thursday so she had more time to enjoy an afternoon’s shopping in London.
The Russian, a three-time quarter-finalist at the All England Club, was first up on court three and made quick work of Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier, winning 6-1, 6-3 in an hour.
Earlier, holder Venus Williams made hay while the sun shone on Court One, crushing Ukraine’s Kateryna Bondarenko 6-3, 6-2 to book a place in the third round. Venus, her left leg strapped throughout, is seeking a sixth title here and her third in a row, and never gave the world number 73 the chance to fully express her game.