Lleyton Hewitt celebrates winning a point in the first set against Andre Agassi. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        MASON — They slugged it out from the baseline all night, with only the rarest of charges to the net. They moved each other from side to side, hitting the lines, slicing and top-spinning shots.

        In the end, Lleyton Hewitt, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the top seed this week, simply made fewer mistakes. He went on to defeat sixth-seeded Andre Agassi 7-5, 6-3 in a quarterfinal matchup Friday night between the world's best hardcourt players.

        “This is like a Grand Slam final for me, playing Andre Agassi, a guy I idolized growing up,” Hewitt said. “I tried to make my game like his a little bit. I still look up to him. I've still got a poster of him in my garage at home.”

        Hewitt advanced to the semifinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters for the second consecutive year. He lost to Patrick Rafter in 2001.

        The 21-year-old Australian will meet Fernando Gonzalez in today's 7 p.m. semifinal. Hewitt has never faced Gonzalez, the only unseeded player in the semis.

        No. 8 seed Juan Carlos Ferrero and No. 16 seed Carlos Moya face off at noon today in the other semifinal. The last two Spanish semifinalists here were Albert Costa in 1997 and Manuel Orantes in 1973. This is the third straight year no American has reached the semis.

        Agassi, 32, who definitely had the crowd on his side, suffered just his third defeat on hardcourts this year. He started out well, winning the first three games. But Hewitt would win 40 of 83 points on Agassi's serves and break him five times.

        “He made some errors early, but I knew that would change,” Agassi said. “He fought his way back into it. He played well when he was behind. He played well when he was up. He just outplayed me today. He's established himself now as the best player. Guys are going to gun for him.”

        Said Hewitt: “I feel comfortable out here. I feel like I've gotten better and better as the week goes on. It's always tough coming off a Grand Slam win (at Wimbledon) three, four weeks ago and trying to knuckle down again.”

        Hewitt broke Agassi's serve three times in the first set. The third one hurt. It was 5-5, and Agassi was ahead 40-15. Then he lost eight consecutive points as Hewitt closed out the set.

Andre Agassi wipes the sweat off his head after losing a point. (Jeff Swinger photo) | ZOOM |

        One point that hurt Agassi in the second set came when he had a 2-1 lead and a chance to break Hewitt's serve. But Agassi sent a backhand drop shot into the net and ended up losing the game.

        In the fifth game, Agassi lost a 40-15 lead but ended up saving four break points. He finally closed out the game with 102-mile-an-hour ace for a 3-2 lead, and it looked like the match would continue back and forth.

        But the match turned when, at 3-3, Hewitt broke Agassi for the fourth time. From there, he ripped through the next two games with efficiency.

        Agassi, thinking — maybe hoping — the final shot was out, he didn't even take a swing at a backhand winner that bounced right at his feet near the baseline.

        “The last four games weren't a reflection of the rest of the match,” Agassi said. “He stepped up and played well on a few big points. Once he got ahead and I started pressing, he battened down the hatches.”

        When it was over, Agassi hit a ball softly into the stands, shoved his wet clothes into a bag and quickly exited the court, waving to the fans that had supported him . He is a four-time finalist and two-time champion (1995, '96) in Cincinnati, but he has not been as far as the semifinals since 1999, when he lost to Pete Sampras.

        “This is like a Grand Slam final for me.”

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