INDIAN WELLS, California, 20 March 2005 — Third seed Andy Roddick earned an Australian Open re-match with Lleyton Hewitt by beating Carlos Moya 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Pacific Life Open on Friday.
Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova, however, was buried 6-0, 6-0 by top ranked Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals of the women’s tournament, while Kim Clijsters continued her remarkable comeback from wrist surgery with a crushing 6-4, 6-2 victory over fourth seed Elena Dementieva.
Roddick, who will face Hewitt after the Australian received a walkover when Andre Agassi withdrew from their quarterfinal with a swollen toe, blew a 4-1 lead in the first set tiebreaker, before he seized control of the match. “I felt good even after I lost the first set, said Roddick, after his huge serve, precision volleying and impressive groundstrokes won him the match. “I was hitting the ball well and I’m glad I stuck it out.”
Hewitt beat Roddick in the 2005 Australian Open semi-finals and the American is looking for revenge.
“It will be a blast, Roddick said. “But I need to commit to the points instead of going for just one shot.”
In a humbling defeat for the third ranked Sharapova, Davenport totally controlled the 49-minute match, painting the corners while the 17-year-old flailed at her shots.
Sharapova entered the match with a 17-1 record this year, but she was a shell of her former self, collecting only 10 winners while registering 42 unforced errors.
It was the first time Sharapova has lost 6-0, 6-0.
“There are days where I go out on the court and I feel like I can’t miss a ball,” Sharapova said. “I think today was just one of those days where you’re playing terrible and she’s just hitting every single ball, as hard as she can on the line.
“I saw the white marks from the balls. There were probably 20 on the same spot.”
Agassi began experiencing pain in the big toe of his left foot on Thursday night and when he woke up in the morning he could barely walk.
“It was blown up like a balloon and twice the size,” said Agassi, who went on court to apologize to fans.
“I can’t bend it or move it. It’s quite painful when I maneuver it manually. It’s impossible for me to do anything. It’s very disappointing.” The 35-year-old has been troubled by back and hip injuries all year and recently took a cortisone shot to help him get through the Dubai tournament and the US-Croatia Davis Cup tie.
In only her second tournament back after spending most of the past year rehabilitating her left wrist, 2003 champion Clijsters played with power and determination and Dementieva was suitably impressed.
“She’s in very good shape,” the Russian said.
“She feels confident even though it’s not easy to play after such a long break. But she’s a very strong person and we’ll see her back in the top 10 again soon.”
