WASHINGTON, Aug 5: Arnaud Clement reached the Legg Mason Classic semi-finals by stunning third seed Lleyton Hewitt 7-6, 6-4 on Friday, his first victory over the Australian in eight attempts.

Clement will next face unseeded Marat Safin, a 7-6, 7-6 winner over South African Wesley Moodie, on Saturday.

British teenager Andy Murray, who crushed American Mardy Fish 6-2, 6-4, will meet Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the other semi-final.

Tursunov overwhelmed Tim Henman 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, ending the possibility of an eagerly anticipated all-British match-up between Murray and his boyhood hero.

Clement's triumph over Hewitt was a welcome lift for the Frenchman whose overall record this year is just 13-14.

Clement raced into a 4-1 lead in the first set before Hewitt rallied to take the next four games. The Australian, however, failed to close out the set, losing his serve at 5-4.

Clement refused to allow the former world number one into the first-set tiebreak, taking it 7-1.

Clement broke Hewitt in the fifth game of the second set to take a 3-2 lead and serve out to take the match.

Friday’s results:

Quarter-finals: 7-Dmitry Tursunov (Russia) beat 14-Tim Henman (Britain) 6-3, 6-2; Marat Safin (Russia) beat Wesley Moodie (South Africa) 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (11-9); 8-Andy Murray (Britain) beat 16-Mardy Fish (US) 6-2, 6-4; 11-Arnaud Clement (France) beat 3-Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) 7-6 (7-1), 6-4.

CLIJSTERS OUSTS HINGIS

SAN DIEGO: Top seed Kim Clijsters overpowered Martina Hingis 7-5, 6-2 to reach the Acura Classic semi-finals on Friday.

Second seed Maria Sharapova crushed defending champion Mary Pierce 6-2, 6-3, setting up a last four clash with Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, who beat number four Elena Dementieva 6-4, 6-3.

Belgian Clijsters will face seventh seed Nicole Vaidisova of Czech Republic after she beat Russian Anna Chakvetadze 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Hingis came back from a 2-4 deficit in the first set to take a 5-4 lead, but Clijsters served brilliantly and came back to win the set 7-5.

A deflated Hingis looked sloppy in the second set and Clijsters pounded out the win.

In other quarter-finals, Sharapova forced the pace against a sluggish defending champion Pierce, dictating with a big serve, powerful ground strokes and sporadic charges to the net.

Results:

Quarter-finals: 1-Kim Clijsters (Belgium) beat 8-Martina Hingis (Switzerland) 7-5, 6-2; 2-Maria Sharapova (Russia) beat 6-Mary Pierce (France) 6-2, 6-3; 5-Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) beat 4-Elena Dementieva (Russia) 6-4, 6-3; 7-Nicole Vaidisova (Czech Republic) beat Anna Chakvetadze (Russia) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.—Reuters