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Lleyton Hewitt Ousted at Indian Wells

Posted on: Monday, 15 March 2004, 06:00 CST

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - Andy Roddick avenged his Australian Open loss to Marat Safin, and two-time defending champion Lleyton Hewitt was eliminated by Juan Ignacio Chela in Monday's third round of the Pacific Life Open.

The 21-year-old Roddick beat Safin for the first time in their three matches, taking a 7-6 (6), 6-2 victory on a scorching afternoon when temperatures reached 102 degrees for the second day in a row.

"It only felt like 101," Roddick quipped.

Chela, an Argentine ranked No. 34, defeated the ninth-ranked Hewitt 6-3, 4-6, 6-1.

On the women's side of the tournament, top-ranked Justine Henin-Hardenne got out of the heat in a hurry, needing only 58 minutes to defeat Marta Marrero 6-1, 6-2 in their third-round match.

Safin outlasted Roddick in a five-set quarterfinals marathon in Australia earlier this year. Safin lost the final to Roger Federer.

Roddick fell behind the 24-year-old Russian 0-3 at Indian Wells, then trailed 3-1 in the tiebreaker before his serve-and-volley game won it for him.

He took command in the second set and, when Safin netted a forehand to end the match, Roddick raised his racket and tapped it with his palm to applaud the fans.

"He played amazing in Australia," said Roddick, ranked No. 3 after finishing 2003 at No. 1. "He definitely didn't play as well today as he did in Australia. I think I came in a little bit more, keeping him guessing, maybe not being too predictable."

Chela beat Hewitt at his own game: chasing everything down, keeping the ball in play and waiting patiently for the opponent to make a mistake.

"Even when I felt like I had him on a stretch a couple of times, he came up with good defensive shots," said Hewitt, whose 13-match winning streak ended. "I didn't feel like I played too badly, but I felt like he didn't miss a lot of shots."

Hewitt did - making 42 unforced errors to Chela's 15.

Hewitt's fiancee, Kim Clijsters, also won't repeat as champion at Indian Wells, where they received matching his and hers trophies a year ago.

Clijsters withdrew on Saturday after she hurt her left wrist a night earlier during a two-set win over Angelika Roesch.

The top-ranked Federer made quick work of Fernando Gonzalez in their third-round match, taking a 6-3, 6-2 win in 1:02.

Tommy Haas continued his comeback from 2002 shoulder surgery with a 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3 victory over Albert Costa. Haas missed all of last year so the shoulder could heal.

Sesil Karatancheva, the brash 14-year-old from Bulgaria, was unable to back up her boast that she would beat Maria Sharapova.

Karatancheva won the first set, but her Russian opponent, just 16, came back to take a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Their match on a side court drew several thousand fans, as many or more than the Hewitt-Chela match going on at the same time in the main stadium.

"Hey, she played unbelievable. I have to give her credit," Karatancheva said. "I did everything I could. I could have played better, but you know what, that's my first big tournament.

"I'm 14. I probably have 30 years more in front of me. We'll play again someday and I hope I'll do better then."

Sharapova was gracious in victory.

"She's definitely a great young player. She has a great future ahead of her, no doubt about it," Sharapova said.

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