Semi final Lleyton defeated by Andy Roddick  2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4

ANDY Roddick admitted he was lucky to beat Lleyton Hewitt in a semi-final of the ATP Tour's St Jude tournament in Memphis.

It was a classic match-up between two contemporaries, both with 26 titles, who are equal third behind Roger Federer (57) and Rafael Nadal (32). Ranked 103 in the world and seeking his first Tour crown since March 2007 as he continues his return from hip surgery last September, Hewitt got an early jump on top seed Roddick and looked well on top.

But the American fought his way back to win 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to move into the final against Czech Radek Stepanek. The loss left the former No1 frustrated and still without a win over a top-10 player since May 2007, but with the satisfaction of knowing he's playing well.

"I was lucky to get through," Roddick said. "He had me up against it for the better part of the match. "I kind of just snuck out of the tiebreaker there and played my best tennis in the third set."

Roddick has been in good form and went into the clash with a 15-3 record this year. However, he was impressed with Hewitt's quick return to form after his injury layoff.

"It's another testament to Lleyton's willpower, which I don't think has ever been questioned," Roddick said. Hewitt broke Roddick's high voltage serve twice and consequently cruised through the first set in 31 minutes.

In the second set tiebreak, Roddick raced to 6-2 and levelled the match when Hewitt hit a forehand into the net at 4-6. In the final set, Roddick broke the South Australian in the seventh game as Hewitt netted a backhand on break point.

"I returned especially well in the first set and gave myself some opportunities in the second set but couldn't quite take a couple of break points I did have," Hewitt said. "He came up with a couple of big shots at the right time.

"Overall the week was great for me and I played some tough matches and had some good wins. The hip held up pretty good and that's important."

 

Quarter final Lleyton defeated Christophe Rochus 6-2 6-3

LLEYTON Hewitt has continued his encouraging run at the combined ATP and WTA event in Memphis, booking his first semi-final appearance in 18 months.

Hewitt, on the comeback trail from hip surgery last August, easily overcame Belgian Christophe Rochus 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. The South Australian will face top seed Andy Roddick in his first semi-final appearance since his loss to Roger Federer in the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati in August, 2007.

Hewitt, who won the most recent of his 26 singles titles in Las Vegas in February 2007, has a 6-3 win-loss record against Roddick, but they have not played since the American's straight-sets victory in the quarter-finals of the 2006 US Open.

Hewitt's ranking has slumped to No. 103, but he will receive a big boost in the standings from his Memphis performance, which included a first-round triumph over James Blake.

But more important to him than rankings points at present is getting time on the court.

"For me, it's about getting the matches," Hewitt said after beating Rochus. "I can't emphasise it enough.

"I've got to get out there and play week in and week out and the results will take care of themselves."

In meeting No. 6-ranked Roddick, Hewitt will be seeking his first top-10 scalp since beating then-world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko in Hamburg in May, 2007.

 

2nd rd  Lleyton defeated Chris Guccione 6-2 7-6(4)

World No.103 Lleyton Hewitt has defeated fellow Australian Chris Guccione 6-2 7-6 (7-4) in the second round of the ATP Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis.

Coming off a tough three-set win over No.3 seed James Blake, a confident Hewitt was never in any real danger against his fellow countryman as he dominated the second set tiebreak to advance to the next round.

"I'm feeling pretty good about the way things are going," Hewitt said.

"Jim and I did a lot of moving in that three-set match and I was happy with the result. Today against Guccione, there weren't so many long points, and that was probably good."

Hewitt gave up only eight points on serve in the match and had 10 aces.

"The thing for me right now is getting used to match conditions again, playing a lot of guys, going through a lot of big points," he said.

"No matter how good you feel on the practice court, you have to keep playing matches to get sharp. That's what I'm working on now."

It was only the second time Hewitt had faced his Davis Cup teammate Guccione.

"We practise together, gone to battle for our country together. We know everything about each other's games, so it's tough to go through something like this," Hewitt said.

Hewitt next plays Christophe Rochus, from Belgium, who defeated No.7 seed Mardy Fish, from the United States, 6-2 6-4.

 

1st Rd Lleyton defeted James Blake 3-6 6-1 6-4

Lleyton Hewitt sent third-seeded American James Blake tumbling out of the first-round of the $US1.22 million ($A1.91 million) ATP and WTA hardcourt event in Memphis on Wednesday. Hewitt triumphed 3-6 6-1 6-4 over world No.13 Blake in just over two hours to set up a second round clash with fellow Australian Chris Guccione.

Blake is the highest ranked player Hewitt has beaten since the South Australian overcame Mikhail Youzhny in Indian Wells in March last year, when the Russian was also ranked 13th in the world.On the comeback trail after hip surgery in August, Hewitt bounced back from a sloppy first set to improve to 8-1 all-time against Blake.

"It is tough to come back from surgery, not being seeded and getting all those tough first round matches," said Hewitt, who entered the week ranked No.103 in the world. "Last week (in San Jose) I lost in a close match to (Mardy) Fish, who went on to the final, and this week I face Blake.

"We saw some good tennis out there today. I knew it was going to be tough for the loser of this match."  Hewitt will now chase his first career win over Guccione, after the big-serving left-hander won their only career meeting in Sydney last year.

"Against Guccione it will be a whole different story," Hewitt said. "He has a different game than James and obviously a great serve." After losing the first set, Hewitt saved five break points to hold serve at the start of the second before reeling off 15 of the next 20 points to race to a 4-0 lead and comfortably claim the set. He then broke to go up 4-3 in the deciding set before closing it out on serve. "He took advantage of his opportunities and I didn't," said Blake, who injured an ankle playing in San Jose last week.