MELBOURNE — Lleyton Hewitt heightened his billing as one of the most dangerous unseeded players at next week's Australian Open when he beat world No. 6 Tomas Berdych 6-3, 6-2 Thursday at the Kooyong Classic. Hewitt defied his current ranking of 82 to beat Berdych in only 88 minutes and said later he felt he would be competitive against anyone at the season's first grand slam. The former world No. 1 posted his second-straight win over a top tier player after beating 15th-ranked Canadian Milos Raonic in his opening match. Raonic beat Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-4, 6-4. Querrey in Auckland semis Sam Querrey's booming serve carried him past long-time rival Jesse Levine 6-4, 7-6 (5) Thursday and into the semifinals of the Heineken Open. Fourth-seeded Querrey served 16 aces, to go with the 19 he served in his second round match against Olivier Rochus, to earn a semifinal place opposite second-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber. Top-seeded David Ferrer looked imperious as he downed Slovakia's Lukas Lacko 6-2, 6-1 in only 52 minutes. The Spaniard rebounded after struggling with the pace of the courts in his opening match Wednesday when he needed three sets and two hours to beat Lu Yen-hsun of Taiwan. Ferrer will now face world No. 99 and wildcard Gael Monfils in Friday's semifinals after the Frenchman ousted third-seeded Tommy Haas 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Prize money going up Prize money for the women's tennis tour will increase more than 10 percent this year. The WTA said Wednesday that total prize money for the 54 events in 2013, not including Grand Slam tournaments, will rise from $53.3 million to $58.7 million. The tour will return to Poland in 2013 with an event in April. Last summer, Agnieszka Radwanska became the first Polish Grand Slam finalist since 1939. The 2014 calendar will add tournaments in Wuhan, China, and Hong Kong. — Agencies
