Former top-ranked Lleyton Hewitt of Australia outlasted world number six Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 in the second round of the 2013 US Open Championships. Their match, which was scheduled during the night session on a Friday night, did not disappoint the crowd.
“This is why I still play. To have moments like this,” the two-time Grand Slam champion said during the oncourt interview.
Hewitt found himself in trouble during the start of the fourth set as he was down 2 sets to 1 on that stage. However, he managed to win the tiebreaker in the fourth and cruised thereon at the fifth.
“I was obviously trying to regroup but the conditions were tough out here,” Hewitt said. “He was struggling with it for a set and a half, and then he started to find his range a bit more and I was sort of playing a bit more defensive. I had to try and turn the tables. I felt physically I was starting to get a little more on top of things through the fourth set. He played a great game to break me when I served for the fourth set as well. I played one of the best tie-breaks of my life.”
Hewitt won the US Open title back in 2001 when he defeated Pete Sampras while Del Potro clinched the title in 2009 by defeating then five-time defending champion Roger Federer in a pulsating final.
Hewitt faces Evgeny Donskoy of Russia next.
