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Surprise finalists Hewitt, Lapentti both reach first indoor final
Posted: Saturday October 23, 1999 08:25 PM
LYON, France (AP) -- Lleyton Hewitt sped past eighth-seeded Vincent Spadea of the United States 6-3, 6-3 Saturday at the Lyon Grand Prix, to reach the final in his first appearance on the European indoor circuit. Hewitt, and 18-year-old Australian ranked a career-high 27th by the ATP Tour, will meet sixth-seeded Nicolas Lapentti in the final. The Ecuadorian again rallied from a set down, this time beating Sweden's Magnus Gustafsson 6-7 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in his semifinal. "I'm a little surprised to find myself in the final," said Hewitt, who only has played two other indoor events, both in Singapore. "I'm less surprised to see Lapentti in the final." Lapentti had never won a match on carpet before arriving in Lyon. The pair, who have never met, are each seeking their second career ATP Tour titles. Hewitt had little difficulty getting past Spadea, sweeping aside the sluggish American in 1 hour, 21 minutes to reach his fifth career tour final. Still feeling the effects of his marathon quarterfinal against top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Spadea appeared sluggish and worn. "I got off to such a strong start and I'm sure he didn't feel like playing a long match," said Hewitt, whose performance in Lyon has strengthened his chances of replacing injured compatriot Patrick Rafter in Australia's Davis Cup final against France in Nice this December. "If he'd had an early break, it might have been a different match." Spadea admitted his quarterfinal victory over Kafelnikov had cost him. "I was tired and I felt I was playing the same match as last night," Spadea said. "It didn't feel like I'd left the court at all. "But it wasn't just my lack of form. Hewitt played really well today." Hewitt, who dropped just one set on way to the final, may again benefit from his opponent's fatigue in the final. Lapentti has been forced to three sets all week to reach his place in his first career indoor final, rallying from a set down in all four of his matches. "I'm not 100 percent," acknowledged Lapentti, at career-high 14th on the ATP Tour rankings. "I'm a little tired. "Hewitt is a fighter who runs for the ball so I expect a long and difficult match tomorrow," Lapentti said. "But when you're in the final, you manage to find the energy somehow." Lapentti halted a 10-match losing streak with a victory in the first round at the Grand Slam Cup and his sudden run of form has left him in contention for a place in the season-ending ATP Tour World Championships in Hannover, Germany, in November. Meeting each other for the first time, Lapentti and Gustafsson cautiously probed each others' game but neither was able to manage a break. Lapentti jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak, but the veteran Swede swept the next five points on way to winning 7-5. The sixth-seeded Ecuadorian, however, persevered and claimed the first break of the match to lead 5-3 in the second set. Gustafsson immediately broke back to put the set back on serve and again send the set to a tiebreak. This time it was Lapentti's turn to rally, coming back from 3-1 in the tiebreak. The efforts of the two tiebreaks in a stuffy arena seemed to deflate the 32-year-old Swede, allowing Lapentti to jump ahead 4-1 and cruising to a comfortable victory.
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