Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt has been dumped out of Halle's ATP grasscourt tournament after he went down in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Friday's quarter-final. Kohlschreiber is into the semi-finals at Halle for the fourth time in his career after securing a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over the former world number one in exactly 90 minutes.
The German smashed down 14 aces, compared to the Australian's nine, in a hard-fought match. It was Kohlschreiber's strong serve which carried him to victory and he will play either France's Gael Monfils or fellow countryman Florian Mayer in the semis. "Today, I could see an improvement in my game - everything was just fine and I often had a bit of luck on my side," said Kohlschreiber. Kohlschreiber is the second German definitely into Halle's last four after compatriot Philipp Petzschner earlier booked his place by knocking out eighth-seeded Canadian newcomer Milos Raoni.
In a tough last-eight match, Petzschner needed nearly two hours to prevail over 20-year-old Raonic and seal a 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 win. In Saturday's semi-final, the 27-year-old Petzschner will now meet either 2007 Halle winner Tomas Berdych - the top seed after Roger Federer's withdrawal on Monday - or Davis Cup winner Viktor Troicki of Serbia.
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