Published: October 09
Youzhny to met Hewitt in Japan Open semi-finals
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Youzhny faces former world number one Lleyton Hewitt in Saturday s semi-finals after the Australian pulverised Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4 6-0 in the day's first match.
Russia's 2002 Davis Cup hero produced flashes of genius against Berdych, frustrating the fifth-seeded Czech with a clever mix of power and finesse in Tokyo.
Youzhny tightened up while serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set and Berdych forced a tiebreak but the Russian took it 8-6 with an ace into the corner.
As Youzhny celebrated by shooting at the crowd with his racquet, Berdych left his in a mangled heap after smashing it on the floor in disgust as he slumped into his chair.
"I stopped playing at 5-4 and was waiting for him to give me the match," Youzhny told reporters. "In Munich (in May) I was 5-1 against Tomas and lost six points in a row.
"I didn't want it to happen again," added the world number 49, who was a top 10 player early last year. "My game is coming back. I'm enjoying my tennis again."
Roger-Vasselin will want to forget his first ATP Tour quarter-final in a hurry as the world number 189 was blown off court in just 66 minutes by Hewitt.
"I hadn't really seen him play that much," admitted eighth seed Hewitt. "He was going for his shots in the first set and it was a matter of hanging in there and biding my time."
Roger-Vasselin had stunned U. S. Open champion and top seed Juan Martin del Potro and beaten Austria's Juergen Melzer but was no match for a rejuvenated Hewitt, whose 2008 season was cut short by hip surgery following the Beijing Olympics.
"I've been able to mix it up and when it mattered hit my spots on serve," said the two-times grand slam winner and former Tokyo champion. "The body's holding up well."
Tag: HEWITT, YOUZHNY, MATCH, TOKYO, BERDYCH, WORLD, WORLD NUMBER, NUMBER, ROGER-VASSELIN, CHAMPION, OPEN, SET, TOMAS, EMAIL, 189 BLOWN COURT, COURT 66, BLOWN COURT, 66 MINUTES,
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