Australian Lleyton Hewitt (2.25) beats Roddick to reach Open final against Safin (1.57)
Australian Hewitt beats Roddick to reach final against Safin
Lleyton Hewitt, Aussie crowd favorite, endured 31 aces to beat No.2 Andy Roddick today and advance to the 2005 Australian Open final.
He fired up the spectators, but Roddick complained about one of Hewitt’s fans shouting during his service motion in the third set.
Lleyton Hewitt is trying to become the first Australian player to win home tournament since Mark Edmondson in 1976. Hewitt won two Grand Slam titles from Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. On Sunday, he will take on Russia’s Marat Safin in the Australian Open's first evening men's final. Safin ended No.1 Roger Federer's 26-match winning streak in the other men’s semi-final.
Safin won the 2000 U.S. Open title and has lost two previous finals here at Melbourne Park.
"Always said I'd do anything to have chance to play in the first night final here in history, and I've got my chance," Hewitt said. "Obviously, Marat's beaten the best player going around. He's playing extremely well. I'm going to have to raise my level yet again and see what happens."
"It's never routine, especially playing a guy like Andy," Hewitt said. "He's got so much firepower, and I had to weather the storm."
The women's final will be played by No.1 Lindsay Davenport and No. 7 Serena Williams on Saturday.
In the women's doubles final, U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australia's Alicia Molik combined to down Americans Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu 6-3, 6-4. Davenport and Morariu lost to Serena Williams and Venus Williams in the 2001 doubles final here. In between, Morariu underwent chemotherapy treatment for leukemia and has had two shoulder operations.
To Win Match Betting on 2005 Australian Open - Mens Final Marat Safin vs Lleyton Hewitt Book Closes Jan 30 - 00:00
Marat Safin 1.57 Lleyton Hewitt 2.25
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