Tsonga, 22, defeated Hewitt last year at the Queen's Club in London and was dominant again over the former No. 1 Hewitt. Hewitt has won the Adelaide tournament twice before, including his first tournament singles victory as a pro in 1998.

The event will move to Queensland state next year, ending its lengthy run at Memorial Drive.

"I felt like I had as many chances as he did throughout the match, but I just didn't serve well on the big points when I needed to, and that was the difference," Hewitt said. "It's frustrating but I've got to look ahead, I still feel like I can play a lot better than that, which is a good thing, and I felt like I had a lot of chances out there."

One Australian did advance to the semifinals — 32-year-old wild card Joe Sirianni, who beat second-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 1-6, 6-1, 7-6 (6).

"It's amazing, a great feeling. He's 25 in the world, he's playing unbelievable, he's week in week out playing against the top players, and I'm just enjoying myself," Sirianni said.

Sirianni has won 12 matches in a row, and 24 of his last 25, including two Challenger events late last year and wild card playoffs for entry into both Adelaide and the Australian Open beginning Jan. 14.

"I'm on a bit of a winning streak at the moment, I don't know how long it is, but I hope it never stops," he said.

In other quarterfinals Friday, Michael Llodra of France beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 7-6 (5), 6-4 and third-seeded Jarkko Nieminen of Finland defeated American Vince Spadea 7-6 (5), 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5).