NEW YORK -- Sometimes Yevgeny Kafelnikov shows up for his tennis match, sometimes he doesn't. That may be fine for some of those obscure Far East events where a six-figure guarantee is quietly exchanged for a first-round loss, but this was the U.S. Open semifinals.

	Australia's Lleyton Hewitt celebrates reaching his first Grand Slam final.

Australia's 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt, the beneficiary of Kafelnikov's half-hearted effort, won 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 in all of 83 minutes. Hewitt, the No. 4 seed and a semifinalist here last year, advanced to the first Grand Slam final of his brief career. He will play the winner of the second semifinal, Pete Sampras vs. Marat Safin, on Sunday afternoon. "I knew I had a job to do," Hewitt said. "I just kept going after it out there. It's hard to sort of keep your concentration, though, when you're about to serve for it to go two sets to love up, and you know he's not playing his best tennis."

Kafelnikov's passivity actually made history, albeit history of an infamous kind. It was the worst performance in a men's U.S. Open semifinal in the 33 years of the Open era. France's Cedric Pioline managed to take only seven games off Todd Martin in 1999.

At one point, CBS commentator John McEnroe joked that maybe Kafelnikov's Russian bottled water was actually vodka. Then again, maybe he wasn't joking.

"Absolutely nothing wrong with me physically," Kafelnikov said, begging the mental question. "You know, I wasn't tired at all. It's just one of those days where in the tournament, unfortunately, it came in when I was playing a semifinal. You have stages where you trying best, but it's not working, unfortunately."

The turning point? Believe it or not, the very first game of the match.

Kafelnikov, a two-time Grand Slam champion, won the first three points of his serve and seemed on the verge of holding easily. But Hewitt climbed back to deuce. Kafelnikov, hitting an ill-advised approach shot right at Hewitt, was passed by a rock-solid backhand. At break point, Hewitt passed Kafelnikov again, this time with a cross-court forehand. That made it five consecutive points for Hewitt and a devastating loss for Kafelnikov.

When Kafelnikov beat No. 1-ranked Gustavo Kuerten in the quarterfinals in straight sets, the match was tainted by Kuerten's oddly lethargic play. The Brazilian won only seven games. Clearly, the virus was contagious.

Kafelnikov, who successfully came to net against Kuerten -- something wildly out of character for the methodical baseliner -- came into the match against Hewitt with a similar plan. Picking his spots, he would work into the net and pressure Hewitt into making errors. As it turned out, Kafelnikov's error was coming to net at all. He came to net 22 times in all and won a paltry five points -- an abysmal percentage.

	Yevgeny Kafelnikov stares at his racquet after having his serve broken for the second time in the first set against Lleyton Hewitt.

"You know, I wasn't surprised when he tried to do that early," Hewitt said. "I believe my passing shots are one of my best strengths. I knew I was capable of passing him most times he came in."

Kafelnikov managed to hold his second serve, at love, no less. But in the fifth game, Hewitt broke again when Kafelnikov's laconic backhand sailed long. Hewitt took the first set when he broke Kafelnikov for the third time in four games.

Since patience didn't seem to be working, Kafelnikov went to Plan B: impatience. He rushed net more often, but his approach shots were unconvincing and Hewitt drilled winner after winner.

"Today I needed to do something extraordinary to beat him," Kafelnikov said. "I tried to, you know, play fast. I tried to play slow. Lleyton was using my pace perfectly.

"Everything I try, I was not able to come up with the goods."

The second and third sets featured more of the same, to the growing dismay of the thin crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium. When Kafelnikov managed to hold serve trailing 0-4 in the third set, a Bronx cheer rose from the spectators.

The only real drama at the end was whether Kafelnikov would surpass Pioline's (lack of) effort in 1999. That, and when Hewitt would formally close the deal. On match point, after hitting what he thought was an ace, Hewitt started celebrating -- only to be told by the chair umpire that his serve had grazed the net cord.

Embarrassed, Hewitt played tentatively and saw the game slide to deuce before he finally cashed in match point No. 4 when Kafelnikov sent a backhand into the net.

It is a measure of Hewitt's maturity that he refused to acknowledge that Sunday's final will be the biggest match of his young life. He led the Aussies to the Davis Cup title in 1999 as an 18-year-old and has won big matches in hostile environments, including a victory over Kuerten in Brazil.

Hewitt has already overcome the doubts that, at 5-foot-11, 150 pounds, he is too small to dominate the men's game. He has managed to put his controversial remarks during a second-round match against James Blake behind him. "You know, I've just blocked it out," Hewitt said. "I've just gone out there and taken it one match at a time. I know if I play my best tennis, I'm capable of winning big matches. I've been able to do it in Davis Cup ties.That's what I've been thinking about for the last week and a half."

Greg Garber is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

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