SYDNEY, 17 January 2004 — Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne strolled into their respective finals at the Sydney International yesterday after both their opponents succumbed to illness.
Hewitt advanced to today’s men’s final when Dutchman Martin Verkerk retired after losing the first set 6-2 complaining of dizziness.
Hewitt will play Carlos Moya for the title after the Spaniard beat South Africa’s Wayne Ferreira 6-2, 6-1 in just 41 minutes.
Henin-Hardenne did not even get on court after her opponent, Lindsay Davenport, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
Davenport strained a muscle in her right shoulder during her quarterfinal win over Elena Dementieva on Thursday then aggravated the problem by playing doubles.
Henin-Hardenne will play either Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo or Italy’s Francesca Schiavone in the final. The second semifinal was washed out by rain and re-scheduled for this morning, with the title match taking place later in the day.
French Open finalist Verkerk said he was hit by stomach problems and diarrhoea just before going on court and began to feel dizzy during the match.
Roddick Falls Short as Nalbandian Holds His Nerve at Kooyong
In Melbourne, David Nalbandian recovered his poise to deflect a comeback effort from world No. 1 Andy Roddick, defeating the American 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) yesterday to reach the final of the Kooyong International. The world No. 8 Argentine will today take on the masters of the Rebound Ace, four-time Australian Open winner and Kooyong defending champion Andre Agassi for the title at the elite eight-man tune-up event.
Young Gun Nadal Fires Big Shots Out of New Zealand Open
In Auckland, teen sensation Rafael Nadal walloped Jiri Novak in quick time to make the finals of the New Zealand Open men’s tennis tournament yesterday, and won immediate praise from the big Czech as a player destined for the top.
Nadal will play last year’s beaten finalist Dominik Hrbaty in the final, after the Slovak had an equally easy win in disposing of defending champion Gustavo Kuerten 6-3, 6-2 in the semis.
The 17-year-old Nadal, utilizing his ferocious ground strokes, took just over an hour to beat the tournament No. 2 seed 6-1, 6-3, to reach his first ATP final and join a very short list of players who have been able to humiliate Novak in such rapid fashion.
Hrbaty had a busy day to make the final, starting with a set to play in his rain interrupted match with Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany, which he eventually took 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Two hours later he was back on court against Kuerten who had beaten him in last year’s final.
Coming off a tournament win in Adelaide, Hrbaty is at the top of his game which showed in the depth of strokes he employed to beat the Brazlian 6-3, 6-2.
