KEY BISCAYNE, Florida : Lleyton Hewitt became the third active man to win 600 matches when he rallied past Robin Haase of the Netherlands 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the first round at the Sony Open on Thursday.
Hewitt joined Roger Federer (942 wins) and Rafael Nadal (675) in reaching the milestone. Hewitt is a former No. 1 and a three-time Key Biscayne semifinalist.
Fellow Australian Bernard Tomic, mounting a comeback from surgery on both hips and playing for the first time since January, lost to Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-0, 6-1.
In women's play, No. 5-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany won her opening match, beating Peng Shuai of China 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (5). Kerber, a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, matched her best showing at Key Biscayne by reaching the third round.
Ana Ivanovic beat American Lauren Davis 6-1, 6-1, and No. 8 Petra Kvitova defeated Paula Ormaechea of Argentina 6-3, 6-4. Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2006 champion, lost to Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic 7-6 (5), 7-5.
Six-time champion Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova were scheduled to play their opening matches late Thursday. Seeded men begin play on Friday.
