Argentine Gaston Gaudio in action during a quarter final match against Australian Lleyton Hewitt in Paris on Wednesday. Gaudio won 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. (AFP)

Paris: Unseeded Gaston Gaudio joined compatriots Guillermo Coria and David Nalbandian in the semi-finals of the French Open for the first time on Wednesday to keep alive his country’s dream of an all-Argentine final.

Gaudio will meet Nalbandian, who beat three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) in the quarter finals on Wednesday.

Friday’s other semi-final will see third seeded Coria taking on Britain’s Tim Henman.

Gaudio gave former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt a clay court lesson, romping past the Australian 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the French Open. His mixture of deft drop shots and accurate groundstrokes left the 12th seed reeling and the Argentine raced to victory in just under two hours to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.

“It was my childhood dream to win Roland Garros,” said Gaudio. “I thought I would be more nervous playing in my first Grand Slam quarter final but that wasn’t the case and it all worked out well.”

“He was too good,” Hewitt responded. “I tried hanging in there and trying a few different things but I didn’t feel like I was hitting the ball that cleanly. He is a class player on this surface.”

Hewitt, who had never been beyond the last eight in five previous visits, looked in the mood to end that run when he broke Gaudio to love in the opening game.

But Gaudio broke back immediately and once he had broken again in the sixth game, he was always in control, dictating the points and forcing Hewitt into a succession of errors, particularly on the backhand.

Time after time Hewitt was made to look like a clay court novice as Gaudio pulled him out of court with his groundstrokes, finishing off the point with a drop shot or simple volley.

Gaudio romped through the second set in 35 minutes and, with Hewitt bemused, stormed ahead 3-0 in the third.

The Australian gave his supporters brief hope when he battled back to 3-2 in the third set, but after holding serve in a long sixth game, Gaudio eased to victory.

Despite the defeat, Hewitt said he would take confidence from reaching the quarter finals in Paris for only the second time.

Nalbandian, a former Wimbledon runner-up, saved four set points in the fourth set before winning the tie-break to clinch victory in just over three hours.

Nalbandian, appearing in his first quarter final at the French Open, began well, taking the first set in 40 minutes before Kuerten hit back to level the match.

The eighth seed took the third set and saved four set points in the fourth, coming from 2-5 down in the tie-break to clinch victory.

Tushar loses in singles

The impressive show of Tushar Liberhan and Karan Rastogi at the junior events came to an end on Wednesday after they bowed out of the boys’ singles and doubles, respectively.

The 16-year old Tushar, who had upset the tenth seeded Jun Woong-sun of South Korea in the second round, went down 3-6, 3-6 to eighth seed Mihail Zverev of Germany.

Tushar, however, made progress in the doubles with compatriot Divij Sharan.

The duo advanced to the second round where they will be playing the Korean pair of Jun and Kim Sun-yong Jr after their first round opponents Viktor Troicki of Serbia and Vilin Visak of Venezuela conceded their held-over tie on Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday, fading light had forced the tie to be suspended after the Indians had levelled the match 1-6, 6-3.

Karan and Chinese Taipei’s Yi Chu-huan fought it out before going down 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 to Phillip Simmonds of the US and Fritz Wolmarans of South Africa.

Women’s semi-finals

If experience holds the key to success in Grand Slam tournaments, Jennifer Capriati will win her second French Open on Saturday.

The 2001 champion, helped by the poor form of the four players who have eclipsed her in recent years and boosted by a new physical training programme, is the one survivor of the pre-tournament favourites.

Apart from the American, Russian Elena Dementieva is the only other semi-finalist to have reached the last four in a Grand Slam.

Capriati, who meets another Russian in Anastasia Myskina next, seems to have done the hardest part of the job by beating compatriot Serena Williams in the quarters. The last time she managed that in a Grand Slam was at the 2001 French Open.

Capriati leads Myskina 5-1 in their previous encounters.

Ninth seed Dementieva, like Myskina, will be trying to become only the second Russian woman to play a Grand Slam final after Olga Morozova at Wimbledon in 1974.

As for Paola Suarez, seeded 14th, she will be hoping to emulate Gabriela Sabatini, the last Argentine woman to have played a Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon in 1991.

Day IX results

Men’s singles, quarter finals: Tim Henman (9, GBR) bt Juan Ignacio Chela (22, Arg) 6-2, 6-4, 6-4; Guillermo Coria (3, Arg) bt Carlos Moya (5, Esp) 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
Women’s singles, quarter finals: Elena Dementieva (9, Rus) bt Amelie Mauresmo (3, Fra) 6-4, 6-3; Anastasia Myskina (6, Rus) bt Venus Williams (4, US) 6-3, 6-4; Jennifer Capriati (7, US) bt Serena Williams (2, US) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Paola Suarez (14, Arg) bt Maria Sharapova (18, Rus) 6-1, 6-3.

Men’s doubles, quarter finals: Michael Llodra/Fabrice Santoro (6, Fra/Fra) bt Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (4, Bah/Can) 7-5, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3; Xavier Malisse/Olivier Rochus (Bel) bt Gaston Etlis/Martin Rodriguez (9, Arg) 6-4, 6-4.

Mixed doubles, quarter finals: Daniela Hantuchova/Todd Woodbridge (Svk/Aus) bt Petra Mandula/Andy Ram (Hun/Isr) 6-3, 6-4; Tatiana Golovin/Richard Gasquet (Fra/Fra) bt Angelique Widjaja/Lucas Arnold (Ina/Arg) 6-2, 6-2.