Lleyton Hewitt is not ready to sail off into the sunset just yet.
Hewitt extended his 2016 Australian Open farewell tour with a 7-6 6-2 6-4 win over young compatriot James Duckworth at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday night.
It was a vintage Hewitt performance with the veteran out-witting a younger opponent with superior ground strokes, efficient serving and a more consistent all round game.
“I wouldn’t say [the match was] comfortable,” Hewitt said.
“Obviously that third set I had to dig deep and make a lot of balls to try to get back into it.
“He raised his game. I was kind of waiting for him to just dip off a little bit there in the third set. Eventually it happened.”
This would have been Hewitt’s last hurrah if he did not find a way to get over the line.
You got the sense that organisers were preparing as if the match would be his final stand.
There were tiny Australian flags handed out, a video of a young Lleyton was shown on the screens and a one-off event rebranding of the day calling it ‘c’mon day’ in honour of his famous catchcry.
A deafening cheer rang out around the arena when public announcer Craig Willis introduced Hewitt’s name, while making a point of emphasising that it was his 20th consecutive Australian Open appearance.
Amid all the pomp, there was a tennis game to be won.
Hewitt showed that he was not ready to draw the curtain on his fine career with a top shelf performance.
“I was pretty pumped up before I went on,” Hewitt said.
You know, I think I was able to block out everything else once I was out there.
“Obviously you get asked the same questions for quite a few months leading into this tournament, then it’s there, and you don’t fully know how you’re going to react until you’re out there on the match court.
“I think I had my game face on. Yeah, it might have been in the back of my mind a couple of times, but I was focused, ready, competitive, I guess, to get out there and hopefully get past the line.”
Hewitt is no longer has a menacing serve, nor does he have the foot speed that he used to possess, or the athleticsm of the younger generation, but he is still one the best fighters in the game and demonstrated that for the umpteenth time in his career.
The loud speakers blurted out Cold Chisel’s hit song Working Class Man before the game and that’s exactly what he was on this night.
In the 34-year-old’s mind, there is no substitute for a good preparation.
“I do all the right things,” Hewitt said. “I’ve prided myself my whole career on preparing as well as possible and doing all the one-percenters to try and get the best result possible.”
Next up for Hewitt is another player built from the same mould, Spaniard David Ferrer.
Ferrer is a Spanish fighter, one of the toughest nuts to crack because of his willingness to track down every ball and never give up.
It has the hallmarks of a classic encounter, one that would provide Hewitt with a chance of one more against-the-odds win.
You wouldn’t back against him, would you?
Hewitt knows he needs to take it up another notch to bring down Ferrer.
“He’s like a brick wall out there,” he said. “He competes as well as anyone on tour. “He’s a tough customer for nearly anyone.”
Asked if he think he has another win in him this Open, Hewitt replied with a smile: “I want six more”.
The other Australians through on the second day were Sam Groth, John Millman and Bernard Tomic.
