Australian Lleyton Hewitt reached the semi-finals of the US mens Clay Court Championship on Friday with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spains Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Hewitt, a former world number one who is battling to come back from left hip surgery, will be vying to advance to his first ATP Tour final in more than two years when he meets Russian Evgeny Korolev on Saturday.
Hewitt served for the match in the eighth game of the second set but was broken as Garcia-Lopez nailed a crosscourt forehand on break point. The Aussie served for the match again in the 10th game, but wasted three match points before sealing it with a forehand winner. Hewitt dropped his serve in the fifth game of the opening set, but broke Garcia Lopez in the fourth and eighth to pocket the set.
"From 3-2 in the first set to 5-1 in the second, I played great," Hewitt said. "He started going for everything because he had nothing to lose. He was swinging from the hips. It made the match hard to close out." Hewitts last appearance in a final was in Las Vegas in 2007, where he won his 26th career title. His 2008 season without a title saw Hewitts streak of 10 years with at least one title end. Korolev advanced with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Argentinian veteran Guillermo Canas.