Reigning US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt emerged victorious against American James Blake to claim a berth in Sunday's final of the Japan Open tennis tournament.
The Australian top seed, who was stretched to the distance by Blake on his way to winning his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadow, took the last seven games in a row for a 6-4, 6-0 victory.
In the final, Hewitt will take on fifth seed Michel Kratochvil of Switzerland, who downed Karol Kucera of the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-3 in the other semi-final.
"Any pressure on me is a sort of pressure put on myself. When I go out there, I feel pretty free at the moment. I've got nothing to lose," said Hewitt, 20.
"I've just come off the biggest month of my life, I put Australia into another Davis Cup final as well in Sydney, so it really has been big feeling for me, it gives me confidence."
The semi-final virtually ended with the first game of the second set when Hewitt, who took the first set thanks to the only break in the seventh game, broke Blake after six deuces.
Once Hewitt got ahead, he allowed Blake to take only eight more points in the remaining five games, finishing off the 66-minute match with a flawless love game.
AFP