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 A player who constructed a career around a relentless fighting
spirit that became his calling card, Hewitt was never going to leave
the U.S. Open without a struggle and went down swinging until the
very end, falling 6-3 6-2 3-6 5-7 7-5.
"I left it all out there again," said Hewitt, a two-time grand slam
winner. "A great atmosphere, it was nice to be able to turn it into
a decent match."
Set to retire after next year's Australian Open, Hewitt may have
lost a step and his groundstrokes are not as ferocious as they once
were but the 34-year-old showed he has lost none of his
combativeness during an enthralling three hour, 27 minute second
round slugfest.
Hewitt gave Tomic, and the other young Australian players who have
made headlines for all the wrong reasons in recent weeks, a
demonstration of what it takes to be a winner, battling back from
two sets down to give his fans one final thrill.
"I'm just very competitive. I pride myself on getting the most out
of myself," said Hewitt, who is set to take over as his country's
Davis Cup captain and already taken on a mentoring role for some of
Australia's young players.
"I was able to somehow find a way. That's what I've been renowned
for in my career.
"If I can instill a little bit of that especially into the three
promising young guys on the way up, you know, with their games and
the weapons they have, then that's just another positive for them."
Playing on the grandstand court in the shadow of the Arthur Ashe
Stadium where he won the 2001 U.S. Open final against Pete Sampras,
Hewitt arrived ready for work sporting a no-nonsense expression and
his trademark backwards baseball cap.
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While Hewitt's will to win remains intact, his skills have dulled,
unable to convert two match points when leading 5-3 in the fifth to
seal what would have been a fairytale victory.
"I knew from the point when he was coming back, it was not going to
be easy because I kept thinking about watching his matches in the
past, how he got out of them," said Tomic, who moves on to meet 12th
seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet.
"It is so difficult playing him. I was very, very nervous when he
led 5-3 in the fifth.
"He is a huge legend to me. I always looked up to him. I am sure a
lot of people think he is a great legend, not just myself, so for me
it was a privilege."
(Editing by John O'Brien)
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