NEW YORK, Aug 31: Lleyton Hewitt pulled off a stunning five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open after a classic late-night thriller between the two former champions.
Twelve years after he upset Pete Sampras to win the US Open, the 32-year-old Hewitt showed he still has plenty of fight left in him as he floored Del Potro 6-4 5-7 3-6 7-6 (2) 6-1 in a four-hour slugfest at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“I don’t know how many years I have left in me so I was just hanging to get back on this court again,” said Hewitt, who also won Wimbledon in 2002 but has not tasted grand slam success since and tumbled to 66th in the world rankings.
“This is why I still play, to have moments like this.”
Del Potro, who beat Roger Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final and was among the favourites to win this year, had his chances but ran out of gas, unable to keep up with one of his childhood heroes, eight years his senior.
“Tonight was a really tough battle for both but in the end he played better,” the sixth seed said. “He’s a great champion and a great fighter.”
Del Potro became the biggest casualty of this year’s championship, leaving the top half of the draw seemingly at the mercy of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who both overcame wobbles to win Yesterday.
Murray experienced a minor hiccup, dropping his first set of the tournament, but recovered quickly to beat Argentine baseliner Leonardo Mayer 7-5 6-1 3-6 6-1.
(AGENCIES)
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