Playing Hard Pays Off For Lleyton Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt captivated his own adjoin Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras and Marat Safin aback in the day. Hewitt, who accomplished No. 1 in the apple in 2001-02 and won two majors, including this one, has apparent Andy Roddick and James Blake retire and face a approaching after arena tennis.
The adamant Aussie, now 32, has been slowed by every affectionate of abrasion you can brainstorm -- hands, feet, hips, back, knees, etc., and surgeries to actual them. And yet, although his baronial has slipped to No. 61, he is still out there swinging, hat backward, determined, red face close with concentration. He is no best accelerated about the cloister and he never had any ability to allege of. He was all blow and feel and his acknowledgment of serve was already the best in the game. Some of his toes are alloyed calm and he lives with aches that will never go away. [+] Enlarge AP Photo/Charles Krupa Lleyton Hewitt never caved adjoin the hard-hittind del Potro. All Hewitt anytime did was try his hardest. Lately, abounding accept wondered why he bothers. He has a attractive family, an absolute bequest and added money than he can count. Well, Friday night and the comedy at Arthur Ashe Amphitheater provided your answer.
Hewitt, channeling addition era, went beeline at Juan Martin del Potro, in a close affair of two above US Open champions. And, above annihilation you or anyone could analytic project, Hewitt won absolutely in the fifth set.
The amazing account was 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (2), 6-1 and it appropriate 4 hours, 3 minutes.
Twice in the endure set, Hewitt threw himself beyond on the harder city -- absolutely decumbent -- to try and appear up with a shot.
Del Potro, who looked beat at the end, played addition four-hour bout in the aboriginal annular adjoin Guillermo Garcia-Lopez; his two outings actuality were the longest played by anyone. In truth, there were times if he looked defeated in the actual aboriginal set.
Nevertheless, he captivated his continued arm about Hewitt's arch at the net and offered aboveboard congratulations. "A brace of years ago, if I had a brace of bottom surgeries, I didn't apperceive if I was traveling to play tennis anymore," Hewitt said in his on-court interview. "I admire every bout I get to play. This is why I play, for moments like this. "It's a hell of a lot of fun." The endure point accent the match's asperous superior -- the hyper, bouncing Hewitt and the weary, accommodated del Potro. It was a bifold accountability off the agitation of the 24-year-old Argentine. For what it was worth, del Potro was arena with a actively abscessed appropriate wrist, the aforementioned one that appropriate anaplasty in 2010 and affected him to absence eight months. He accomplished with a amazing 70 autogenetic errors and Hewitt in fact hit added winners, 42-41. [+] Enlarge EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images Juan Martin del Potro not alone lost, but says his surgically repaired wrist is aching again. "Tonight was boxy for both of us, but in the end he played better, was impressive," del Potro said after of the hero of his youth. "He's a abundant champion, a abundant fighter. For the additional round, he's a absolutely difficult player.
"He has a adventitious to go far in this tournament."
The wrist, he acknowledged, was aggravation him.
"It's not an excuse," del Potro said. "I was aggravating to the end. Now I accept a few canicule to blow and fix my wrist again. I go home tomorrow."
In some minds, del Potro has been arena able-bodied abundant to win this affair a additional time. He took No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic to the actual border in the semifinals at Wimbledon -- and apparently had a huge duke in carrying the appellation there to Andy Murray. Alone No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal had a bigger summer harder cloister -- alone because he didn't lose a individual match.
No one, conceivably even Hewitt, anticipation he had a adventitious to win to win two matches here. But if it was over and he was analysis the four abandon of the stadium, he looked appealing adequate captivation his accoutrements aloft. Like benumbed a bicycle, a best never forgets.
A few canicule ago, Hewitt accomplished adjoin Russian Evgeny Donskoy, the No. 102-ranked amateur in the world. He had never apparent him afore and, frankly, he's not traveling to alpha annoying about that awfully winnable Sunday bout until at atomic Saturday afternoon.
"I don't apperceive how abounding years I accept larboard in me, humans accumulate allurement me that question," Hewitt said, "but I'm blessed out there, accumulate on putting on a acceptable show."