MELBOURNE PARK, Australia – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia was pushed by Australian Lleyton Hewitt to win in four sets 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to gain a place in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Djokovic raced to a 4-0 lead in the first set and took the set 6-1 in 31 minutes. The Serb was in control of the second set, opening with a break but Hewitt broke back immediately. Djokovic took the set 6-3.
Djokovic went up a break in the third set but Hewitt rallied with a break to get back on serve. Battling Hewitt broke Djokovic at 4-4 to serve for the set. Hewitt needed four set points to complete task and pumped his fist when he finally won the set with a roaring crowd.
“I played some loose points and got him back into the match, ” Djokovic said in regard to the third set. But credit to him as well for being competitive, for not giving up.
“This is something you can expect from Lleyton who is very well‑known for his fighting spirit.
“I should have closed it out earlier. I should have held my serve in 3‑1, because I was playing well, I was feeling well. Suddenly I stopped. I didn’t move well anymore. He got back into the match.
“But look, you know, he had the crowd, he had the big support. It got intense. Especially the start of the fourth set we had some great rallies. You know, it’s good to come out from this match as a winner.”
Djokvic righted the ship in the fourth set breaking serve at 3-2. The break silenced the Australian crowd and Djokovic held serve twice more to seal the win.
“I have to give credit to my opponent, to Lleyton, ” said Djokovic on court. He never gives up. He is a great competitor and he obviously made me play an extra shot.”
“In the last ten, 15 years he has been playing, he is a great competitor and I wish him luck. He was making me earn my points and I wasn’t able to.
“He has been playing in front of his home crowd. It was a fantastic atmosphere.”
Hewitt on the match: “Yeah, well, the first two sets, I went down an early break in the third, he was playing too well. He wasn’t making any unforced errors and he was hitting the ball aggressively from the baseline. His depth was exceptional.
“Yeah, I just tried to hang in there and, you know, press a little bit more, take my chances. I was able to, you know, turn that third set around and got a couple of errors out of him at a couple of crucial times to get the break late in the third set.
“Then, you know, it would have been nice to break to go 2‑1 up in the fourth set because I started to have a bit more momentum going at that stage. And he went through a slightly flat period. But then he picked his game up again towards the end of the fourth set.”
Djokovic is looking to become only the fifth man in the Open era to win three consecutive majors after winning Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011.
Djokovic will face Spaniard David Ferrer in the quarterfinals.
Karen Pestaina for Tennis Panorama News
