Fri Jan 4 09:53:04 2008

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Tsonga upends Hewitt in Adelaide

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Adelaide, Australia (Sports Network) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga knocked off crowd favorite Lleyton Hewitt on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Adelaide International tennis event.

The sixth-seeded Tsonga earned a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the tournament's top seed, giving the Frenchman his second career ATP semifinal appearance. It was also Tsonga's second win over Hewitt, as he bested the Australian last year at the Queen's Club in London.

"It's the second time I've beaten Lleyton and it was good to win a quarterfinal and make the semis," said the 22-year-old Tsonga. "This gives me a lot of confidence. I certainly played my best tennis. I served well and it is my best shot and I have a lot of confidence in it."

Next up for Tsonga will be third-seeded Jarkko Nieminen, who outlasted American Vince Spadea in three tiebreakers. The Finn pulled out a 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-5) thriller that lasted nearly three hours.

Nieminen has just one career ATP singles crown, capturing the 2006 title in an Australian Open tuneup at Auckland.

Saturday's other semifinal will pit France's Michael Llodra against Australian wild card Joseph Sirianni.

Llodra toppled Germany's Benjamin Becker, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, while Sirianni upset second-seeded Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (8-6).

Sirianni, a 32-year-old journeyman, will make his first appearance in an ATP semifinal, while Llodra will try to advance to the Adelaide final for the second time in his career. He was a finalist at the Aussie Open tuneup in 2004, the same year he won his lone ATP singles crown at 's-Hertogenbosch.