Federer outlasts Hewitt to reach Cincy final

Tennis Betting Lines

08/18/2007 - Mason, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Federer needed more than 2 1/2 hours, but gutted out a three-set triumph over Lleyton Hewitt to reach the final at the Cincinnati Masters.

The top-seeded Federer earned a hard-fought, 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-1) victory Saturday to beat the Australian star for the 11th straight time. He also won last week in straight sets in the quarterfinals of the Montreal Masters, and hasn't lost to Hewitt since the 2003 Davis Cup.

Hewitt, who fell to 7-13 lifetime against Federer, did not go down easily. He'd won just one of his last 21 sets against the Swiss superstar entering the match and a couple of breaks gave Federer the first set in relative ease.

However, the second set remained on serve until a dynamic tiebreaker.

Hewitt won the first three points of the tiebreak and led 5-2 before Federer rallied. A pair of Hewitt errors, coupled with a Federer forehand winner and an ace, gave the world's top-ranked player a match point at 6-5.

A backhand drop volley saved Hewitt on the next point and he finally put Federer away with an overhead to send the match to a decisive set.

Hewitt carried the momentum into the third, breaking serve for a 3-2 lead, but Federer gained the break back in the next game. Hewitt also braved a pair of double-faults to hold serve in the eighth game and fought off two match points against his serve in the 10th on the way to another tiebreaker.

Federer, though, dominated this tiebreak. He won the final six points after Hewitt had squared it 1-1.

Next up for Federer will be either James Blake or Nikolay Davydenko in Sunday's final. A win will give the Swiss superstar his 50th career ATP singles title. He was denied it last week, losing to Novak Djokovic in the final at the Montreal Masters.

Federer has already won four titles in 2007, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, but has also lost in title matches three times. He will try for his second Cincinnati crown, having prevailed in 2005.

The winner of Saturday night's semifinal between Blake and Davydenko will have to pull off a first on Sunday to claim the championship. Neither has ever beaten Federer -- Blake in six previous tries and Davydenko in nine all-time meetings.

Davydenko played Federer once this year, dropping a straight-set match in the semifinals at the French Open. He also lost to Federer in the semifinals at last year's U.S. Open and in the quarterfinals at the 2006 Australian Open.

Blake, meanwhile, lost to Federer four times last year and has not played him yet this season. He lost in the final at last year's Tennis Masters Cup and at Indian Wells, while also dropping quarterfinal matches at the U.S. Open and the Miami Masters.

Sunday's winner will pocket $400,000.

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