INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Andy Roddick ripped one serve at 147 mph but couldn't overcome his erratic groundstrokes Friday and Rainer Schuettler beat him 6-3, 6-2 in the Pacific Life Open quarterfinals.

Roddick's ace in the eighth game of the opening set was just 2 mph slower than the fastest ever clocked -- by Greg Rusedski in 1998 at Indian Wells.

Top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt, former No. 1 Gustavo Kuerten and Vincent Spadea also won quarterfinal matches. Hewitt plays Spadea in one semifinal Saturday, with Kuerten and Schuettler meeting in the other.

Both the women's and men's finals are Sunday.

Roddick's serve brought a collective gasp, then a loud cheer from the crowd.

But his serving as a whole was not as dominant as usual, and he managed only four aces against the 27-year-old German who also beat him two months ago in the Australian Open semifinals.

The 21-year-old player from Omaha, Neb., made 28 unforced errors -- twice the number committed by Schuettler.

"I knew I was making a lot of errors out there,'' Roddick said. "He was running down a lot of shots. I hit some really good shots and he was getting them back.

"Obviously, I don't think I played my best tennis by a long shot. But credit him, he came out and just was better than me.''

The sixth-seeded Roddick was one of five Americans in the quarterfinals, but only Spadea made it to the semifinals. Kuerten, the Brazilian who finished 2000 at No. 1, beat James Blake 4-6, 6-4, 6-0. Australia's Hewitt defeated Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-2, and Spadea beat fellow American qualifier Brian Vahaly 6-3, 6-2.

Hewitt, pressed to three sets in two matches earlier this week, was in complete control against Ginepri.

"Nine in 11 days I've won now. That's a lot of tennis,'' said Hewitt, who took the title last weekend in Scottsdale, Ariz. "I've got that match toughness going now, match-hardened. I'd like to keep it going.''

By making it to the semifinals, Hewitt assured that he will retain the No. 1 spot that he has held since Nov. 19, 2002.

He seemed unconcerned about the ranking.

"It's nice, but you're going to lose it sometime,'' the 22-year-old Australian said. "I didn't come to Indian Wells to try and hold on to my No. 1 ranking; I came here to win the tournament.''