Tennis: Hewitt edges past Safin to reach semis

Lleyton Hewitt won a see-saw third set to beat Marat Safin and reach the semi-finals of the Nasdaq-100 Open.

Safin broke Hewitt's serve to level the deciding set 4-4.

The pair then exchanged five consecutive service breaks until the tiebreak, which Hewitt won 7-4.

The number one seed eventually won the match 2-6 6-2 7-6 at the Masters Series event in Miami.

He had to show all his battling qualities against the fast-serving Russian, who capitalised on Hewitt's unforced errors in the first set.

But the Australian steadied his game in the second and grabbed an early initiative in the third before Safin's attempted fightback.

Hewitt now faces Roger Federer in the semi-finals.