Hewitt and Mirnyi Win Doubles Title
by J. Fred Sidhu
Friday, September 8, 2000

Playing in their first event as a doubles team, Lleyton Hewitt of Australia and Max Mirnyi of Belarus became the first unseeded team in the Open era to capture the US Open men's doubles title with an exciting 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (5) victory over fourth seeded Ellis Ferreira of South Africa and Rick Leach of the United States Friday afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

At 19 years old, Hewitt becomes the youngest male to win a Grand Slam doubles crown in the Open Era. Ferreira and Leach broke Hewitt at 5-5 in the second set and then held serve to take the set. Both teams held serve through the third to force a tiebreaker. At 1-1 in the tiebreaker, Hewitt and Mirnyi scored a mini-break to go up 2-1. That point made the difference as they went on to win the tiebreaker 7-5.

The title was Mirnyi's first in men's doubles. He won the Wimbledon and US Open mixed doubles titles with Serena Williams in 1998.

Match Facts

· Hewitt and Mirnyi were the seventh unseeded doubles team in the Open Era to reach the US Open final.
· As a semifinalist in singles, Hewitt has the chance to become the first man since John McEnroe in 1981 to win the US Open singles and doubles in the same year.
· Mirnyi, who finished as runner-up in mixed doubles with Anna Kournikova, is the ninth man to reach the US Open mixed doubles and men's doubles in the Open Era.
· Leach was making his 57th career appearance in a Grand Slam doubles event. He played his first event in 1982.
· Leach and Ferreira won the Australian Open men's doubles title this year.
· Leach played in his final Grand Slam double match of is career as he will retire at the end of the year. Leach, who turned professional in 1987, will become the assistant men's tennis coach at the University of Southern California.