Hewitt rides emotional wave over Raonic into fourth round

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – An emotional Lleyton Hewitt somehow dragged his battered body into the fourth round of the Australian Open yesterday with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 6-3 victory over young gun Milos Raonic.

The former world number one, a wildcard in his record 16th appearance at Melbourne Park, rode a wave of emotion from a frenzied 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena to rally from a set down to beat the 23rd seed.

The 30-year-old Australian sealed victory after four deuces in his final service game with a lob that Raonic could only return over his shoulder into the net and afterwards lay prone, arms and legs outstretched, on the court.

“It’s tough serving out any match,” said Hewitt, who will play world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic in the last 16.

“A couple of weeks ago I would have given anything to be serving to go into the second round at the Australian Open and it’s hard to block that out.

“It’s just another game but it’s a big bloody game.”

Montenegro-born Canadian Raonic, who had his breakthrough year on the ATP circuit in 2011, was only six years old when Hewitt made his Australian Open debut as a qualifier in 1997.

Raonic’s hero was Pete Sampras and there is a physical resemblance between the 21-year-old and the seven-time Wimbledon champion as well as a similarity in playing style, particularly in the serve.

Hewitt, of course, beat Sampras to win the 2001 U.S. Open but that was in the days before the physical exertion and injuries from 14 years as a professional tennis player had taken their full toll.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer will take on teenager Bernard Tomic and 15,000 of his compatriots on Rod Laver Arena today in the highlight of the seventh day of the Australian Open.

Starved of a local men’s champion since 1976, Australians have piled on board the Tomic bandwagon with gusto at Melbourne Park this year as the 19-year-old battled his way to the fourth round.

The rollercoaster ride could come to a shuddering halt, however, when the world number 38 comes up against the four-time champion Swiss, who last failed to reach the quarter-finals here in 2003.

Having taken a few games off Rafa Nadal in the third round on the same court last year, Tomic should be able to handle the occasion but might struggle to impose his unorthodox playing style on Federer.

Spanish 2009 champion Nadal is also in action today against compatriot Feliciano Lopez, while former U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro takes on unseeded German Philipp Kohlschreiber out on Margaret Court Arena.