American No. 1 Andy Roddick fired 21 aces to earn a well deserved win over former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline and reached the semi-final at the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships, an ATP World Tour 500 Event, being played here in Memphis. With this win, Roddick reached the Memphis semi-finals for the sixth time.
 
In the semi-final, Roddick will face the 2009 US Open Champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who made a quick work of the American Michael Russell with a 6-4 6-2 scoreline and come this far in the tournament. Prior to this duel, Roddick and Hewitt were levelled at 6-6 in their head-to-head record, but the American had not lost to Hewitt since 2005 and continued to maintain this winning streak.
 
If Roddick reached the final in Memphis then it would be his 50th ATP World Tour final and if he wins, then it will be his 30th ATP title. After the match, Roddick said, “He played better early. I haven’t gotten off to great starts in two of my three matches, so I’m going to have to start playing better from the get-go. But a match can turn quickly and it did tonight. The end of the second set and the third set was probably the best I’ve played in the tournament so far.

The American further added that “I’ve been trying to drive my forehand and it’s been kind of spotty at the beginning of matches but once I find my range it’s been landing a little bit. I have to find a way to get it going early in matches.”

Roddick has not won a single duel against Del Potro in their three career meetings. When asked about this match, Del Potro said, “It’s going to be a very, very tough match for me. I will try to beat him. I've beaten him every time, but tomorrow will be a different match. I think it will be a very good match for the fans and hopefully I will win. The Argentine further added that "I'm very glad to work through to the semis… I like this country a lot. I've won many tournaments. My best memories in my life are in this country. I want to thank the tournament director for giving me a wild card.”