Lleyton Hewitt easily ousted Arnaud Clement of France in straight sets to reach his first Grand Slam semi-finals at the US Open. The 19-year-old Australian, the number ninth seed, beat Clement 6-2 6-4 6-3 and served 18 aces along the way. “This is another step in my career. Its fantastic to be up there with the boys who have made the finals of this tournament in the past,” Hewitt said. “I have still got two matches to go to win the tournament. I'm playing better with each match I play.”
Hewitt, the youngest man to make it to the last four at Flushing Meadows since Pete Sampras in 1990, will now face either Sampras or Tim Henman's conqueror Richard Krajicek. “They are both world-class players. I'll have to return well against them, he said. I'm gonna have a few nerves the morning of the semi-finals Saturday. But I like being out there and putting up a show for everyone.”
“Today, Lleyton didn't make any mistakes and didn't give me any points, said Clement, who made 42 unforced errors to Hewitt's 23. I don't know why he served that well against me. I don't know if he can play better than today to win a Grand Slam.”
Russian teenager Elena Dementieva upset 10th-seed Anke Huber 6-1 3-6 6-3 in 85 minutes to move into the last four of the women's event. Dementieva, who beat Venus Williams at last year's Federation Cup final, is a surprise semi-finalist for everybody except her brother. “He told me I could reach the semis here,” she said. “He was right. After beating Venus, I knew I could beat top players. That was the turning point for me.”
The unseeded 18-year-old Russian now awaits the winner of the all-American show-down between number two seed Lindsay Davenport and defending champion Serena Williams, the number fifth seed. (PA)
Filed by Johnny Proby
