Hewitt beats Kafelnikov to reach final
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Your support makes all the difference.Lleyton Hewitt, one of the brightest young stars, will play Wayne Ferreira, one of the veterans, in the final of the Stuttgart Masters Series in Germany.
Lleyton Hewitt, one of the brightest young stars, will play Wayne Ferreira, one of the veterans, in the final of the Stuttgart Masters Series in Germany.
Hewitt, 19, upset Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in Saturday's semifinal, while Ferreira ousted Sebastien Grosjean 6-4, 6-2.
Ferreira, 29, reached his first final of the year. He hasn't won a title since 1996.
The eight-seeded Australian broke Kafelnikov's serve for a 5-3 lead when the Russian double-faulted and served out the match.
Kafelnikov, seeded sixth, struggled throughout the match and wasted three set points in the 10th game of the second set before winning the tiebreaker. He also wasted a 3-0 lead in that set.
"We were both pretty tired. In the end, the age played a big role. I felt like I couldn't go along anymore because I was so tired from the matches I played the last two weeks," said the 26-year-old Russian.
Hewitt, who reached his first final of a Masters Series tournament, improved his record against Kafelnikov to 4-1.
"In the end, I just tried to play my game," Hewitt said. "That's what really got me back in the second set. I felt like I really took it up to him."
The nine Masters Series tournaments are the most lucrative and the most important after the four Grand Slams.
Kafelnikov wasted an opportunity to secure a place in the season-ending Masters Cup that brings together the eight best players of the year.
Hewitt, is still in the running for one of the three open places for the event that will be held in Lisbon, Portugal.
The Australian, a U.S. Open semifinalist, has won four titles this year and is one of the young players featured in the "New Balls Please" campaign launched by the ATP to promote the game.
The campaign is centered on a crop of young players the ATP hopes will become the stars of tomorrow.
Kafelnikov has two Grand Slam titles - the French Open in 1996 and the Australian Open in 1999, plus the Olympic gold medal in Sydney.
A former No. 1, Kafelnikov was coming off his fourth consecutive Kremlin Cup title in Moscow.
Kafelnikov, who always has a busy season, was playing his 88th singles match of the year. He frequently also plays doubles.
"I cannot go on like this forever. I always tell myself that. In the end it comes to the point where I am doing exactly the same thing all over the years," Kafelnikov said.
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