Hewitt eases into TD Waterhouse Cup quarterfinals

COMMACK, N.Y. -- Former Wimbledon and U.S. Open winner Lleyton Hewitt cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Michael Llodra on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the TD Waterhouse Cup.

The win was the 13th in the last 14 matches for the 23-year old Australian, who is now 50-13 this year. He has recorded 50 or more wins in three of the last four years.

Llodra, who reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in June, trailed 0-1 and held a 30-15 advantage in the second set when a linesman called his serve out. Replays showed the ball was in.

Play was stopped when the official quickly called the point good, prompting arguments from both players. The linesman insisted he did not say out.

After some debate, the original call was upheld.

"(The linesman) knew he was wrong right away," Hewitt said. "I heard him say fault. Play stopped, as you saw, and I just felt it was a totally awkward situation."

Hewitt will face Juan Ignacio Chela, who defeated Thomas Enqvist, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.

Chela, currently ranked No. 15, will be making his seventh appearance in a quarterfinal this year. He also avenged a second-round loss to Enqvist at Wimbledon in June.

Enqvist's slump continued. He has won 19 career titles, but only one in the past four years.

Hewitt won the Leggs Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., last week and will play Wayne Ferreira in the opening round of next week's U.S. Open.

"Wayne's dangerous out there," said Hewitt, the former No. 1 player in the world. "I am 2-0 against him head-to-head, and I am more confident going into next week than I was last year."

Hewitt lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in last year's Open.

"The tournament in Washington didn't take that much out of me, so I was happy to get this week's wild card," he said. "This is the first time I've played in a tournament the week before the U.S. Open."

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