BBC SPORT | Tennis | Norman halts Ferrero run

Thursday's tennis results

Juan Carlos Ferrero failed to build on his victory in Hong Kong as he lost in the second round of the Japan Open to Magnus Norman.

Ferrero reigns in Hong Kong

Ferrero won his seventh career title last Sunday, but the Spaniard had no answer to the power of Norman's serve.

I knew it was going to be an extremely tough match

Lleyton Hewitt after beating Nicolas Massu

The Swede was hampered by a hip injury last season and has struggled to return to top form, but his game clicked on Thursday.

Norman, who was runner-up in the 2000 French Open, lost only four points on his first 38 serves as he cruised to a 6-3 6-3 victory.

"I didn't play bad, I played maybe not at the level of last week, but I played my normal match," said Ferrero after the 70-minute contest.

Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario
Sanchez-Vicario lost out to Sarah Taylor
"He just played very good shots all the time with a very good serve."

In other second-round action, top seed Lleyton Hewitt fought back to beat Nicolas Massu 6-7 6-2 6-4, and afterwards paid tribute to the Chilean.

"I knew it was going to be an extremely tough match as he plays well, especially with the conditions out there a little bit heavier tonight," said Hewitt.

Along with Ferrero, sixth seed James Blake was the other surprise casualty, going down 6-3 3-6 6-3 to Martin Verkerk.

In the women's event, third seed Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario was beaten 6-3 7-6 by American Sarah Taylor.

But top seed Ai Sugiyama of Japan kept the home fans happy with a 6-3 7-5 win over Akiko Morigami.


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