NEW YORK (AP) Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, lost in the first round Monday to aggressive-playing Paul-Henri Mathieu of France in five sets.
Mathieu beat the 32nd-seeded Australian 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-1. Mathieu had 72 winners and 65 unforced errors.
Mathieu, ranked 109th, was 4-8 at Flushing Meadows before Monday.
After Hewitt rallied from two sets down, Mathieu promptly broke his serve twice to go up 3-0 in the fifth set. Mathieu broke him again on Hewitt's 12th double-fault of the match to clinch the upset.
Hewitt had never lost in the first round at the U.S. Open.