Hewitt, Henin-Hardenne make finals
SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Belgian Justine Henin-Hardenne strolled into their respective finals at the Sydney International after both their opponents succumbed to illness.
Former world number one Hewitt advanced to Saturday's final against Carlos Moya when Dutchman Martin Verkerk retired after losing the first set 6-2 complaining of dizziness.
Henin-Hardenne did not even get on court after her opponent, Lindsay Davenport, pulled out with a shoulder injury.
Davenport strained a muscle in her right shoulder during her quarterfinal win over Elena Dementieva on Thursday then aggravated the problem by playing doubles.
The American told a news conference on Friday that it was too painful for her to play against Henin-Hardenne but she was hopeful of recovering in time for the Australian Open, starting in Melbourne on Monday.
"I've dealt with much worse injuries and things in the past so I'm pretty optimistic that it will heal," Davenport said.
Henin-Hardenne will play either Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo or Italy's Francesca Schiavone in the final. The second semi-final was washed out by rain and re-scheduled for Saturday morning, with the title match taking place later in the day.
Stomach problems
French Open finalist Verkerk said he was hit by stomach problems and diarrhoea just before going on court and began to feel dizzy during the match.
"It just suddenly hit me, I don't know what it is," said Verkerk, who was still planning to compete at the Australian Open.
"I thought I was going to be okay but I started feeling light in the head.
Hewitt added: "It was weird. He was lining up ready to serve and I was ready to return then he walked off to the chair. I wasn't sure what was going on."
Hewitt, who won the Sydney International in 2000 and 2001, said Saturday's final against Moya was the perfect way to complete his preparations for Melbourne.
"You always love playing in finals at any tournament," Hewitt said. "The grand slams and stuff like that are obviously the priorities but any titles go on your record."
Moya won last week's Indian Open and has reached the final without dropping a set, beating South Africa's Wayne Ferreira 6-2 6-1 in just 41 minutes.
Tennis Roundup
• Spanish 17-year-old Rafael Nadal beat second seed Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic 6-1 6-3 to reach the final of the ATP Auckland Open in New Zealand.
Nadal faces Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia who knocked out defending champion Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil 6-3 6-2.
• Top seed Paola Suarez of Argentina and second seed Silvia Farina Elia of Italy will meet in the final of the WTA Canberra Classic.
Suarez beat Croatia's Karolina Sprem 6-2 2-6 6-4 and Farina Elia beat Ukrainian Julia Vakulenko 6-3 7-6.
• American Amy Frazier beat Japan's Shinobu Asagoe 6-3 6-3 to win the WTA Tasmanian International, her seventh career title and her first since the 1999 Japan Open.
