Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis sent former champion Lleyton Hewitt crashing out of Wimbledon on Wednesday with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 quarter-final win.
LONDON: Cyprus's Marcos Baghdatis sent former champion Lleyton Hewitt crashing out of Wimbledon on Wednesday with a 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 quarter-final win.
Baghdatis will face either Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal or Finland's Jarrko Nieminen for a place in the final and proved in thrilling fashion that his run to the Australian Open final in January was no fluke.
Hewitt, the sixth seed and 2002 champion, was subdued throughout the two and a half hour Centre Court clash and his service was broken in the opening game in each of the first three sets.
"I played really good and I feel great," said the 21-year-old Baghdatis, the 18th seed. I was a set and two breaks ahead and I got tight but I came through it and I have unbelievable emotions right now."
Hewitt was seen as a potential title threat to Roger Federer here after warming up for Wimbledon with a fourth Queen's Club crown but he was always struggling on Wednesday.
Baghdatis raced into a 5-0 lead in the first set before Hewitt, the sixth seed, managed to get on the board but the opener was wrapped up in just 26 minutes.
The Australian battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the second set to eventually level the tie at one set each.
But Baghdatis reasserted his authority by clinching the third set tie-break and grabbed the vital break of serve in the fourth game of the fourth set before taking the match when Hewitt netted a forehand.
The Cypriot, who had never won a match here before this year, won't discover the identity of his opponent until Thursday after Nadal's match against Nieminen was held over following a rain-hit programme on Wednesday.
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