Gaudio stuns Hewitt to reach semis

Gaston Gaudio gave Lleyton Hewitt a claycourt lesson, romping past the Australian 6-3 6-2 6-2.

Unseeded Argentine Gaston Gaudio gave former world number one Lleyton Hewitt a claycourt lesson on Wednesday, romping past the Australian 6-3 6-2 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

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Gaudio's mixture of deft drop shots and accurate ground strokes left the 12th seed reeling and the Argentine raced to victory in just under two hours to reach his first grand slam semi-final.

Once he had broken in the sixth game on his way to taking the first set in 39 minutes, Gaudio was in complete control, forcing Hewitt into errors, particularly on the backhand side.

The Australian, who has never been beyond the quarter-finals in Paris, looked helpless as Gaudio romped through the second set in 35 minutes.

Hewitt fought back from 3-0 down to 3-2 in the third. After holding serve in a long sixth game, Gaudio eased through to a clash with three-times champion Gustavo Kuerten or former Wimbledon runner-up David Nalbandian.