PARIS (AP) -- Bloodied by a third-set spill but undeterred, Gaston Gaudio advanced Wednesday to the French Open semifinals by beating Lleyton Hewitt 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

The unseeded Gaudio joined fellow Argentine Guillermo Coria in the semifinals, with compatriot David Nalbandian yet to play the last quarterfinal match against Gustavo Kuerten.

"This is like a history event - an unbelievable week," Gaudio said. "Maybe an Argentinian guy is going to take the final, and it's going to be like a dream."

Four Argentine men reached the quarterfinals, a Grand Slam record. Paola Suarez of Argentina is in the women's final four and will face Elena Dementieva on Thursday.

Playing in the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his career, the 25-year-old Gaudio rose to the occasion with a nearly flawless performance.

"I thought I was going to be really nervous," Gaudio said. "But, in fact, I was not at all."

His biggest stumble came in the second game of the final set, when he slipped and fell chasing a shot and scraped his knee on the clay.

Blood still trickled down his shin after the match, but his strokes were unaffected. The baseliner finished with 27 winners and just 19 errors, and he won 20 of 21 points at the net, playing serve-and-volley to close out two games.

"He was too good," said Hewitt, who was seeded 12th. "He's very confident at the moment, especially on this surface, and his movements are as good as anyone on this surface."

Gaudio won 11 consecutive points early in the second set to take control and needed less than two hours to complete the victory. He improved his career record in major events to 20-20 and will play the Nalbandian-Kuerten winner Friday.

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