Hewett retains men’s title 10 years on from first victory in Rome

Ten years on from Hewett defeating Tom Egberink in straight sets to win his first Rome men’s singles title. the world No. 2 came face-to-face with Egberink in the quarter-finals this year.

But with Egberink having taken his opening match in straight sets as he returned to competition for the first time in almost three months following a shoulder injury, any hopes of a deep run in Rome ended with a 7-6(4) 6-2 loss to Hewett.

Ruben Spaargaren and Gustavo Fernandez posed much greater problems for Hewett, but the top seed took two deciding sets by a margin of 6-4 to successfully defend the ITF 1 title he won in a final against Fernandez 12 months ago.

Spaargaren survived three three-set matches to reach his first singles final of the season, but despite the Dutchman achieving more against Hewett than he did in their 2022 Rome quarter-final, Hewett still held on this year for a 6-3 4-6-4 victory and his fourth singles title of the season.

With Spaargaren having had conflicting fortunes against Hewett and Gordon Reid in the singles draw, he and Martin de la Puente were the beneficiaries of Hewett and Reid withdrawing from the men’s doubles final, handing De la Puente and Spaargaren their fourth title as a partnership.