Hewitt sharpens up game for US Open

The second seed, Lleyton Hewitt, made a confident start to the final warm-up event for the US Open when he eased past the Frenchman Olivier Mutis 7-6, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Long Island Cup.

The Australian world No 5, who won last week's Washington Classic title and is the highest-ranked player left in the field after the withdrawal of the top seed, Andre Agassi, was joined in the last 16 by the defending champion, Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand.

"The last three matches were day matches and I haven't played here before, so it took some adjusting tonight before I got into form," Hewitt said after Tuesday's match.

"I played better in the second set. I just want to sharpen up a few areas of my game before [the US Open] next week."

Srichaphan, attempting to become only the second man to win the title three years in succession, eased past the American Kevin Kim 6-3, 6-2.

The seventh seed, Thomas Johansson of Sweden, also progressed, but there was a surprise defeat for the sixth seed, the Wimbledon semi-finalist Mario Ancic.