Djokovic Crushes Former Champion Hewitt to Reach Semifinals

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Second seed Novak Djokovic handed four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt his heaviest ever defeat at The Queen’s Club with a 6-2, 6-2 win in the quarterfinals of The Artois Championships.

It was a repeat of the Serbian’s victory over Hewitt in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year and the World No. 3 admitted their previous matches played a factor.

“Obviously I gained a lot of experience and I learned a lot from our past encounters," said Djokovic. "I tried to be aggressive, but just wait for my chances. I did play all two sets perfect.”

Djokovic, a semifinalist at the French Open in Paris last week, fired 13 aces and saved all three break points against him as he continued his impressive transition from clay to grass.

“Having this short period of time to get used to the slowest to fastest surface in the sport is not easy, and it takes time,” said Djokovic. “I'm happy that I managed to get through those first two matches, which were very tricky for me. And now I'm gaining a lot of confidence and I managed to find my game, get my strokes together. Most importantly, I'm moving well on grass, not sliding too much. So it's all looking good.”

The Australian Open champion faced his only moments of crisis in the sixth game of the second set, saving two break points from 15-40 and a third later on before holding for a 4-2 lead.

And Hewitt acknowledged that his opponent played better on the day. “He served a lot better than I did throughout the whole match, especially on big points,” said the former Wimbledon champion. “I felt like I was able to get into quite a few of his service games, got to deuce a couple of times even in the first set, and then obviously had three breakpoints in a long game there to break back in the second.

“He's as good a ball striker as there is around right at the moment. And when you let him dictate, he's a very good player.”

Djokovic will now face fourth seed David Nalbandian after the Argentine overcame fifth seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Nalbandian, the 2002 Wimbledon finalist who is making his debut in the tournament, came through 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in just under two hours to reach his third semifinal of the season.