Tennis' iron man Yevgeny Kafelnikov ran out of gas in the semi-final of the Stuttgart Masters Series, allowing 19-year-old Australian Lleyton Hewitt to win 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3.
Hewitt, winner of four titles this season on the tour, will face either South African veteran Wayne Ferreira or Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean in tomorrow’s final. Russia's Kafelnikov, the tournament number six and barely a veteran at age 26, admitted he wasted too much energy winning the second set in a tiebreaker and couldn't keep up the pace in the third.
“If I had won the second with two breaks instead of a tiebreaker, I could have saved some energy”, said the Olympic champion. Kafelnikov is known as the hardest worker on the ATP circuit, competing nearly every week. He added: “Every year I say I'll change this, but I can't. I guess it's in my nature”, said the Russian. (PA)
Filed by Shane Murray
