0
LONDON, June 14: Lleyton Hewitt moved one step closer to joining John McEnroe in the Queen’s Club record books when he eased past American Todd Martin to book a place in the semi-finals of the Stella Artois Championships on Friday.
The top-seeded Australian, bidding to join McEnroe as the only player to win three successive Stella crowns, did just enough in his 7-6 7-5 victory.
Hewitt blew a chance to serve out the opening set before rain forced the players from the court for more than an hour.
He returned to take the first set on a tie break but handed back a break in the second set to go 3-4 down.
Martin dropped serve again and Hewitt pounced to secure another break and the match.
Hewitt will next face either compatriot Wayne Arthurs or Dutchman Sjeng Schalken who meet later on Friday.
British second seed Tim Henman is on course to meet Hewitt in a repeat of last year’s final.
Henman faces South Korea’s Hyung-Taik Lee in their quarter-final also later on Friday.
If grasscourt specialist Henman wins that match as expected, he will face Dutchman Raemon Sluiter who reached the semi-finals when opponent Wayne Ferreira retired with a back injury.
Sluiter was leading 6-1 5-4 when play was suspended because of persistent rain.
South African Ferreira — champion here in 1992 and a strong favourite to win Friday’s opening match — retired during the break.
Quarterfinals results:
Lleyton Hewitt (Aus x1) bt Todd Martin (USA x9) 7-6 (7/4), 7-5; Raemon Sluiter (Ned) bt Wayne Ferreira (Rsa x10) 6-1, 5-4 retired back problem
* HALLE (Germany): Quarterfinals results:
2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-3 6-4; Kenneth Carlsen (Denmark) beat 3-Thomas Johansson (Sweden) 7-6 (7-3) 6-3; Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) beat Alexander Popp (Germany) 7-5 6-4; 1-Yevgeny Kafelnikov (Russia) beat Bohdan Ulihrach (Czech Republic) 5-7 6-3 6-4
* BIRMINGHAM (England): Top seed Jelena Dokic battled through to the semifinals of the DFS Classic at Edgbaston with a 6-4 4-6 6-4 victory over unseeded Greek Eleni Daniilidou Friday.
The 19-year-old Yugoslav, ranked eighth in the world, struggled with her opponent’s serve throughout the rain-affected match and at times lost concentration.
Dokic dropped her serve in the first game of the first set but levelled the score in the sixth game with a break to love.
She then dropped her serve in the seventh game but responded immediately in the eighth and secured the decisive break in the 10th as her opponent hit the ball long.
In the third set Dokic failed to convert four break points but at 5-4 made match point.
She will now face eighth seed Lisa Raymond of the United States who was playing unseeded Clarisa Fernandez when the Argentine had to pull out with a strained left knee while trailing 4-2 in the first set.
Results (quarterfinals):
14-Nicole Pratt (Australia) beat 7-Anne Kremer (Luxembourg) 3-6 6-2 6-3; 8-Lisa Raymond (U.S.) through after Clarisa Fernandez (Argentina) retired injured; 1-Jelena Dokic (Yugoslavia) beat Eleni Daniilidou (Greece) 6-4 4-6 6-4—Reuters
