SYDNEY, 15 January 2005 — Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt lost a set for the first time this week before overpowering Max Mirnyi of Belarus 6-7 6-3 6-2 in the semifinals of the Sydney International yesterday.
The top-seeded Australian now meets qualifier Ivo Minar, who beat fellow Czech Radek Stepanek 6-1 6-2 to reach his first ATP final.
Russian third seed Elena Dementieva pulled out of the women’s semifinals due to illness, giving unseeded Australian Samantha Stosur a free ride into the final.
World number one Lindsay Davenport also withdrew from her quarterfinal against Stosur the previous day.
Stosur, runner-up at last week’s Australian hardcourt championship on the Gold Coast, now faces fellow countrywoman Alicia Molik or Chinese amateur Peng Shuai. Minar, 20, ranked 158th in the world, was planning to try to qualify for next week’s Australian Open but has had to pull out of the draw in order that he can play in the final here.
“For me, it’s a great experience. This is the best result of my career,” Minar told a news conference.
Mirnyi had beaten Hewitt in two of their previous three meetings, including the first round of the 2000 Sydney Olympics on the same court, and looked set for another win over the Australian when he took the opening set on a tiebreak.
But Hewitt, who has won the Sydney title three times, broke serve twice to square the match before running away with the deciding set. Mirnyi’s last two opponents had quit halfway through the first set and Hewitt’s extra time on court proved decisive as he twice broke serve in the decider.
Familiar Qualifiers Meet for Main Draw Championship
In Canberra, Serbia-Montenegro’s Ana Ivanovic and Hungarian Melinda Czink will establish an odd record today when they meet in the Canberra Classic women’s tennis final.
Earlier this week, Ivanovic eliminated Czink in the final round of qualifying for the tournament, before Czink entered the main draw as the lucky loser.
Both won their semifinals yesterday, marking the first time in WTA Tour history that a lucky loser and the player who knocked them out of qualifying will meet in a final.
Ivanovic, last year’s junior Wimbledon finalist, beat Ukrainian Yuliana Fedak 6-1, 6-2. Czink defeated Lindsay Lee-Waters of the United States 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4).
Ivanovic beat Czink 6-1, 6-3 in their qualifying match.
Ivanovic said her game was coming together ahead of next week’s Australian Open, where she will play 32nd-seeded Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in the first round. Czink won’t play at Melbourne because her unexpected success here prevented her from playing in the Australian Open qualifying tournament.
China’s Zheng Wins First WTA Title in Tasmania
In Hobart, unseeded Zheng Jie won her first WTA Tour tennis title with a 6-2, 6-0 win over second seed Gisela Dulko in the final of the $110,000 Tasmanian International tournament here yesterday.
The Chinese world No.82 took three match points to wrap up victory over the Argentine 34th-ranked player just days before the Australian Open gets underway in Melbourne.
Zheng’s powerful all-court performance was too much for Dulko, who played well below her best.
Zheng, 21, reached the final with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 semi-final victory over compatriot and friend Li Na, while Dulko, 19, beat Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic in their semi 7-5, 6-2.
