Three-time champion Lleyton Hewitt beat Tim Henman 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 today to reach the Queen’s Club final, while underdog James Blake won against Andy Roddick, his fellow American, 7-5, 6-4.
Hewitt, the eighth-seeded Australian, champion from 2000-02, has now beaten Henman nine times out of 10 and will meet Blake tomorrow in the final. Roddick is aiming to become the first player to win four consecutive titles at Queen’s.
“It was always going to be a tough match today, and for the most part I thought the tennis was a pretty good standard,” said Hewitt. “You keep battling away, but Tim was playing extremely well and I just tried to wait for my chances.”
Hewitt broke to lead 3-1 — the only break in the first set with just six points dropped on serve — and closed out a set with few rallies and little entertainment. There were more opportunities in the second set, but it was Henman who earned the only break in the sixth game when he struck a forehand winner down the line.
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Henman broke in the opening game of the deciding set, but the match turned on a disputed line-call that allowed Hewitt to level at 2-2.
Henman was sure a shot of his had landed on the line — which TV replays confirmed — but after his protests to the umpire went unheeded, he demanded to speak to ATP Tour supervisor Thomas Karlberg. With his concentration broken, Henman made a forehand error to fall behind 4-2. A double-fault and a further forehand error gave Hewitt another break and the match.
“There were so many close line-calls out there and people can’t get it right 100 percent of the time,” said Hewitt . “But the umpire obviously saw it out as well as the line-person.”
“The line calling was appalling today,” said Henman. “It’s going to go sometimes against you, sometimes for you. But the problem is when there are as many bad calls as that, it’s going to have an impact because it’s going to happen on a big point.
“It goes both ways and I’m sure I had some in my favour. But I think when it comes on a breakpoint like that, it obviously does have an impact. That went against me, and in all honesty I wouldn’t say I then dealt with it very well because I think it frustrated me.”
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Later, James Blake ended Andy Roddick’s dream of an unprecedented fourth consecutive Queen’s Club triumph with a 7-5, 6-4 win over his hard-hitting compatriot.
Blake, who has enjoyed a stunning season to rise to seventh in the world, broke the fearsome Roddick serve in the opening game of the match and retained the initiative throughout.
The 28-year-old’s only mistake was his failure to serve out for the first set at 5-4, when he was broken to love, only for Blake broke straight back and served out second time around.
And Blake went on to take the only break in the second set, this time serving out in style to record his first victory over Roddick in seven attempts.
Roddick simply had no answer to his opponent’s swinging style and will have plenty to ponder after the latest chapter in a poor season which has seen him slide to fifth in the world rankings.
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But Blake’s win will be celebrated, not least for his recovery from a catalogue of serious health problems including a broken neck vertebrae after slipping into a net post in Rome two years ago.
Blake’s scattergun style of hitting went down a storm with the Queen’s Club fans who will relish tomorrow’s final match against fellow baseliner Hewitt.