Federer Beats Hewitt in Fast4 Launch in Sydney, Australia

On Monday, Swiss tennis legend and current World No. 2 Roger Federer challenged Australian great Lleyton Hewitt to a high-impact game of tennis at the iconic Sydney Opera House, for the exclusive global launch of Fast4 in Sydney.

With the Sydney Harbour Bridge as a backdrop, Federer and Hewitt played a friendly Fast4 match on the Northern Boardwalk at the Sydney Opera House.

In the more serious Fast4 launch, which took place at Sydney's Qantas Credit Union Arena later in the evening, Federer beat Hewitt 4-3, 2-4, 3-4, 4-0, 4-2 in just over 90 minutes.

Fast4 is an innovative, new format of tennis developed by Tennis Australia. It is designed to offer a faster game, and has four rule variations from traditional tennis: no advantage scoring, no lets, a tiebreaker to be played at three games all, with the first player to win four games winning the set. It is designed to speed up the game, in a way similar to what Twenty20 did for cricket.

“I'm delighted that the global launch of Fast4 was unveiled exclusively in Sydney, the home of world class sport," said Destination NSW CEO, Sandra Chipchase. "Sydney is home to some of the leading sports events in the world, attracting some of the world’s biggest names in sport. We’re delighted to welcome Federer back to our shores for this exclusive, global premier of the next best thing in the sporting world. Sydney is proud to be part of this historic event, celebrating the launch of the shortened version of the game."