Hewitt saves two match points before defeating Soderling

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt saved two match points in a second-set tiebreaker yesterday and rallied to beat Sweden's Robin Soderling 3-6, 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 to advance at the Cincinnati Masters.

Soderling was the man who knocked Rafael Nadal out of the French Open, ending the Spaniard's four-year reign at Roland Garros on his way to the final where he lost to Roger Federer, just as he did in the Wimbledon fourth round.

"It was a tough match," Hewitt said. "It was not easy to go through because he has been playing well these past months in Roland Garros and also Wimbledon.

"He's the kind of guy who's gonna hit a lot of winners out there. You sort of got to make him play that one extra shot a lot of times. You can see the confidence."

Hewitt nearly exited in the tie-breaker but took advantage on key points to force a third set, then broke to open the third and swing the direction of the match within a few minutes.

"He's such a big hitter out there. He wants to play on his terms and he wants to dictate play," Hewitt said.