Lleyton Hewitt overcame an astonishing fourth-set collapse to claw his way into the last 16 of the Australian Open today with a drama-charged five-set win over classy Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.
In one of the most extraordinary matches in Open history - one full of twists and turns that started at 11.47 on Saturday night and finished four-and-three-quarter hours later.
The match finally finished just after 4.30am local time, the latest finish for a match in Australian Open history.
He was up 5-1 in the fourth set before Baghdatis started going for broke and hit some fantastic shots while Hewitt struggled under the pressure.
An exhausted Hewitt struggled to explain how he pulled the match out of the fire,
"To come back and beat him in five sets, I'm pretty proud."
The tournament director received considerable heat for staging a match that ended so late since Hewitt, after doing post match interviews, massages, and meal, didn't get to sleep until 8:30am which left his normal routine in a shambles. Baghdatis, already a crowd favorite from his great performances in 2006, left everything on the court and it was amazing to see his response after losing such a dramatic match.
FROM MARCOS BAGHDATIS: I had really so much fun, and the crowd was great.
Of course. I love Melbourne. I love the tournament. I’m very happy to be here. Like I said before, that’s why I live, for matches like this. That’s why I work hard. That’s why I dream: For matches like this. And it’s a pleasure to -- even losing it. That’s not the most important thing, you know.
It’s just a game, and I’m just very, very happy that I’m playing this way and having so many good emotions.

USA ORDERS: