Legions of his die-hard fans probably thought Roger Federer just needed to pick up the racquet and walk into the court to get past Lleyton Hewitt. In the end, Federer did win his battle against the plucky Australian but had no qualms in admitting that he barely managed to escape with a victory.
In a see-saw battle of fluctuating fortune, Federer eventually triumphed with a triumph 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-1). He will now meet James Blake in the summit clash following Blake’s facile 6-4 6-2 win over Nikolay Davydenko in the second semi-final.
Federer did not hesitate to admit that Hewitt had given him a good run for his money and said
That was a classic, it’s always tough stuff between us. Playing Lleyton makes me nervous.
He makes you miss so much, I’m happy to escape with this win.
On his part, Hewitt was not too unhappy with the show even though he eventually lost the match.
He said
I couldn’t have asked for better preparation for the US Open than these two weeks. It’s taken the best guy in the world to knock me off.
There were really only a couple of points in it. It could have gone either way.
Federer dominated a lop-sided first set to go one up before Hewitt pulled up his socks and made life difficult for the world number one. Hewitt pocketed the set to force a decided and was in fact a break up before the match slipped through his fingers.
After an intense battle in the tie-break, Hewitt lost the plot and conceded six points in a row to allow Federer run away with a win.
