Moroccan rocked

El Aynaoui less than 100 percent in loss to Hewitt

NEW YORK (AP) -- When he was serving to level the match at one set apiece, Younes El Aynaoui blinked.

"Everything was going well until I served for the set at 5-4," he said. "When you're serving at 5-4, you have to finish a set, and I didn't."

It was enough of an opening for top-seeded Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who beat back his Moroccan foe 6-1, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-2 Wednesday to advance to the men's singles semifinals of the U.S. Open.

"I think, realizing that you're going to win the second set, you get a bit stiff. Three points later, it's 5-all, and then ...," El Aynaoui said, his thought and voice trailing off. "But then I didn't really lose my concentration. I kept on thinking I could make it. In the tiebreaker I had a few set points."

Hewitt, seeking a repeat U.S. Open crown and his second straight Grand Slam tournament title, was ripping winners from all over the court, running down everything and using his big serve to set up easy points. But it is Hewitt's movement that caused El Aynaoui the most problems.

"He surprises me how he runs," the Moroccan said. "He got one or two drop shots that was really impressive. And, yeah, he's running a lot. The faster you play, the better he plays. He's a very complete overall player."

Hewitt ran through the opening set in just 26 minutes.

"I came out and tried to attack from the start, and I knew that for some reason that he was pretty slow out of the blocks, I felt as well," Hewitt said. "He didn't quite serve as well. I was sort of on his serve right from the start."

El Aynaoui pulled his game together, frequently finding the far corner with his inside-out forehand.

"He got better and better as the match went on, which I expected him to do," Hewitt said.

Then he served for level the match at 5-3, only to have the momentum switch again.

"Overall I think I'm pretty happy," said El Aynaoui, who didn't complete his fourth-round victory until 2:14 a.m. Tuesday morning. "I wasn't 100 percent physically today. I mean, against a player such as Lleyton, you have to be 150 percent.

"That match I finish really late I think was still a little bit in my mind and my body."

 

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