Lleyton Hewitt wasn't the only player suspending his retirement to play Davis Cup this week. Jarkko Nieminen, who retired a few months ago after an exhibition match against Roger Federer in Finland, came back to the court for his country's home tie in Kittila against Zimbabwe.
While Hewitt and John Peers fell in a five-set doubles marathon against Bob and Mike Bryan, Nieminen faced lesser opposition and dominated both his singles and doubles rubbers. The 35-year-old did not drop a game in his first competitive encounter since retirement, defeating world No. 2,147 Courtney Lock, 6-0, 6-0, 6,0 in the opening singles rubber. He also won his doubles match alongside No. 36-ranked doubles player Henri Kontinen, 6-1, 6-0, 6-1 against Lock and Mark Flynn.
With a five-set win by Harri Heliovaar in the second singles rubber, Finland is up 3-0 against Zimbabwe, and is through to the Euro-Africa Group II second round.