Defending champion Lleyton Hewitt lost yesterday's quarter-final in straight sets to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Friday's quarter-final of the ATP tournament in Halle.

It was a tough match as Kohlschreiber hit 14 aces to Hewitt's nine. The German player won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in 90 minutes and will face Gael Monfils of France in today semi-final.

Hewitt will drop out of the top 100 in the ATP rankings, but should be happy with his progress towards Wimbledon since ankle surgery in March.