Hewitt fights back to sink Russell in five sets

MELBOURNE, Jan 16 (Reuters) Home favourite Lleyton Hewitt fought back from two sets down to beat American Michael Russell 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 in the Australian Open first round today.

Roared on by the crowd, Hewitt, seeded 19th, started slowly against the 28-year-old Russell, who raised his game to ease through the first two sets of the late match on Rod Laver Arena.

But former world number one Hewitt dug deep and found his range as Russell, a qualifier for the tournament ranked 114th in the world, flagged.

Hewitt began to produce his trademark raking groundstrokes to move Russell relentlessly around the court and the former Wimbledon and US Open champion clinched victory just after 0100 am local time on his first match point.

Reuters SAM DB2025