NEW YORK, Sept 9: Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt will renew their rivalry in the US Open, but it was the Swiss top seed and title-holder who was by far the more impressive on Thursday in winning through to the semifinals. Federer produced his best tennis of the championships to score a lop-sided 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 win over old nemesis David Nalbandian of Argentina.

Third-seeded Hewitt was strangely subdued before finally sparking into life in the final set against Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen winning 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1.

Federer has won his last eight encounters with Hewitt and there was nothing on show on Thursday to suggest it would be any different on Saturday.

The other semifinal, also on Saturday, is an all-American matchup between crowd favourite Andre Agassi and the unseeded Robby Ginepri.

Federer dropped his opening serve against Nalbandian but a game later he was already back on level terms and then abruptly stepped on the accelerator to power ahead 4-1 winning 12 points in a row.

A third break of serve in the eighth game gave Federer the opening set in just 27 minutes and already Nalbandian was looking concerned.

His concern was justified as the champion remained totally in control producing winner after winner and reducing Nalbandian to despair at times resulting in a spectacular destruction of his racquet at one changeover.

It was a very different Federer to the player that struggled through four sets in the last round against Nicolas Kiefer.

But Nalbandian was never an opponent he was going to take lightly as the muscular slugger from Cordoba held a rare winning 5-2 record over him, including a fourth round tie here two years ago.

It was Federer’s 69th match win against three losses this year and his 33rd straight win on hardcourts this year since losing to Marat Safin in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January.

In contrast Hewitt needed five sets to see off the modest challenge of Nieminen, the first Finn to reach the last eight of a Grand Slam tournament.

Hewitt dropped the first set and was in danger of a shock exit when he went two sets to one down.

Curiously for him he looked jaded and at times almost disinterested, and it took him until he broke serve at the start of the fifth set before he finally let rip with one of his trademark “C’Mons.”

Hewitt was playing in his sixth straight US Open quarterfinals, the only man with such a record, as he campaigned for his third Grand Slam title after victories here in 2001 and Wimbledon 2002.

Results

Men’s singles quarterfinals:

Lleyton Hewitt (AUS) bt Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 2-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1; Roger Federer (SUI) bt David Nalbandian (ARG x11) 6-2, 6-4, 6-1.—AFP