Lleyton Hewitt, who seems to feed off controversy and adversity, endured 31 aces to beat second-seeded Andy Roddick 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1 Friday and advance to the Australian Open final.
Third-ranked Hewitt fired up the crowd, which was too vocal for Roddick's tastes -- he complained about fans shouting during his service motion.
Trying to become the first Australian man to win here since Mark Edmondson in 1976, Hewitt advanced to tomorrow's first-ever evening men's final, against fourth-seeded Marat Safin in a matchup of former top-ranked players. Safin ended top-ranked Roger Federer's 26-match winning streak in the other semifinal.
Hewitt has won major titles at Wimbledon in 2002 and the US Open in 2001. Safin won the 2000 US Open and has lost two previous finals here at Melbourne Park, including last year against Federer.
"Always said I'd do anything to have chance to play in the first night final here in history, and I've got my chance," Hewitt said. "Obviously, Marat's beaten the best player going around. He's playing extremely well. I'm going to have to raise my level yet again and see what happens."
The women's final pits top-ranked Lindsay Davenport against No. 7 Serena Williams on Saturday.
Roddick came out hot, jumping ahead at 2-0. He converted his fourth breakpoint opportunity when Hewitt hit long on a forehand from Roddick that was called good but TV replays indicated was just long.
As he has done so often, Roddick relied on his blistering serve to get out of early trouble. He had six aces as he served at 5-3, using them to fend off four of Hewitt's five break points in the game, then finish off the set with another two.
Roddick made it seven aces in a row with four in the next game. But Hewitt had only three unforced errors in the second set, which saw the first appearance of his trademark "Come on!" while pointing his fingers at his forehead in the 16th game -- much later that usual.
Hewitt still needed a tiebreaker -- Roddick had won all three that they had played despite's the Australian's 4-1 record in head-to-head meetings -- to even the match. Hewitt had the only ace to pull ahead 6-3, and Roddick netted a backhand on the next point.
After cracking 23 aces in the first two sets, Roddick had only eight in the last two.
"It's never routine, especially playing a guy like Andy," Hewitt said. "He's got so much firepower, and I had to weather the storm."
Roddick went ahead in the third set when Hewitt double-faulted at break point. But serving at 4-2, 30-30, Roddick -- clearly trying to put a little extra on his second serve -- double-faulted twice to return the favor. He had only six double-faults in the previous five matches, but had nine against Hewitt.
At the changeover, Roddick complained to chair umpire Andrea Egli about fans calling out during his service motion.
When Egli indicated he couldn't control everyone in the crowd, Roddick responded: "You're telling me I can have someone shout during every one of his serves and you can't do anything about it?"
He complained again in the next game after someone shouted as he served at 40-0 after his 27th ace.
Another tiebreaker, and Hewitt peaked at the right time again. From 4-4, he ran off the last three points, the last a backhand crosscourt pass. Hewitt leaned low and pumped his fist three times with another "Come on!'"
Hewitt, who has been nursing sore thighs, had spent 14 1/2 hours on court -- twice as long as Roddick -- over of his previous five matches, including a four-hour, five-setter in the quarterfinals. But he still looked strong at the end, breaking an increasingly downcast Roddick for the first time while jumping ahead 3-0 in the fourth set.
Another break followed to make it 5-1, and Hewitt held for the match when Roddick sent a service return long.
Hewitt dropped to his knees, kissed the court and hit a ball high into the air as the crowd roared.
In the women's doubles final, US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australia's Alicia Molik combined to down Americans Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu 6-3, 6-4. Davenport and Morariu lost to Serena Williams and Venus Williams in the 2001 doubles final here. In between, Morariu underwent chemotherapy treatment for leukemia and has had two shoulder operations.
Serena Williams isn't just a tennis player, she's also a fan of the game -- especially of top-ranked men's player Roger Federer.
So she was watching television nervously as Federer and Marat Safin played four hours Thursday night in a classic match that featured eight match points before the fourth-seeded Russian finally finished off the upset.
"I was dying," Williams said. "I couldn't watch at one more point. I turned [the channel] when Federer was down 5-2 in the fifth, and then I turned back, and I was like, `Oh, I hate to see him lose.' I turned back, and it was 6-all. I'm like, Oh, my God. But then I turned again because I couldn't bear to watch."
Williams sounded like a charter member of the Swiss star's fan club.
"I think he's an amazing athlete, just his ability is second to none," she said. "I learn so much from his game. He's just so smooth and so solid, effortless. So I look for a lot of things from him."
Still, Williams wasn't surprised that Safin won.
"I always thought Safin was a great player and I've always wondered why he didn't win more Slams," she said.
SHARAPOVA DONATES
Russia's Maria Sharapova has made a significant donation to the victims of last September's Beslan school siege in her homeland.
Wimbledon champion Sharapova on Friday donated the value of a Porsche car -- her prize for winning the WTA Tour Championships in November -- to those affected by the hostage crisis, in which more than 330 people, half of them children, died.
Sharapova was awarded a Porsche Cayenne S car, to be donated to the charity of her choice, following her win over Serena Williams in the season-ending championships.
She auctioned the vehicle, raising US$56,300 (43,200 euros), and at a ceremony in Melbourne on Friday presented the proceeds to the Russian ambassador to Australia, Leonid P. Moiseev.
"Making this donation was the least that I could do to help the innocent victims in my country who were tragically affected by this senseless act," Sharapova said in a statement.
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