Apia International Sydney Tennis - Australian Open Series

Outstanding Thursday line up

Catherine Sneddon Wednesday 14 January 2009 16 Comments »

Four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt will face his toughest test of his Australian summer to date, when he takes on Argentine fourth seed David Nalbandian in a dream quarter final match up at the Medibank International Sydney on Thursday.

The pair, who have shared an intense rivalry throughout their careers, have played four times before, their last encounter being a fiery Davis Cup Quarter Final in 2005. Nalbandian accounted for the Australian in straight sets then, but Hewitt leads their overall head to head 3 to 1.

Tournament Organisers are thrilled that the dream match up tennis fans have been eagerly anticipating will take place on Ken Rosewall Arena at the Medibank International Sydney.

“You could not ask for a more exciting match than Hewitt versus Nalbandian,” Tournament Director Craig Watson said.

“Lleyton has already had two incredible matches this week and David is obviously in great form. Tennis fans have been waiting for a few years for this pair to face each other again and I am sure we will not be disappointed.”

The women’s semi finals will also have top billing on Ken Rosewall Arena on Thursday.

First up, the second seed Dinara Safina of Russia will take on veteran Ai Sugiyama of Japan. Sugiyama leads their head to head 3 to 2, however the Russian has won their last two matches.

Then no. 1 seed Serena Williams will take on Russian third seed Elena Dementieva for a spot in the final on Friday night.

Both players fought their way through tough three set matches today. Williams saved three match points to defeat Caroline Wozniacki, whilst Dementieva stopped Polish teenager Agnieszka Radwanska.

It will be an all French-affair on show court one tomorrow afternoon when Richard Gasquet takes on qualifier Jeremy Chardy. The winner will book an appointment on Friday with the victor of Hewitt-Nalbandian match.

The night session features superstars of men’s tennis, Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, taking on Mario Ancic and Jarkko Nieminen respectively, for spots in the semi finals.

Great tickets for all sessions are available through Ticketek. Call 1300 888 104 or visit www.ticketek.com.au

Tags: Ai Sugiyama, David Nalbandian, Dinara Safina, Elena Dementieva, Jarkko Nieminen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Lleyton Hewitt, Mario Ancic, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams

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