Lleyton Hewitt won an epic battle with Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal on Monday and Alicia Molik upset former world No.1 Venus Williams to raise hopes of a home champion at the Australian Open.Hewitt clawed his way back from the brink of defeat to win 7-5, 3-6, 1-6, 7-6, 6-2 while Molik rode her booming serve to a 7-5, 7-6 victory over Williams.The performance by the two Australians was in contrast to the Russian women, whose seemingly unstoppable advance came to a shuddering halt when Anastasia Myskina and Elena Dementieva both bombed out against lower-ranked opponents. Myskina, last season’s French Open champion and WTA player of the year, fell 6-4, 6-2 to Nathalie Dechy after Dementieva, a finalist in two of the last three Grand Slams, had been upset by Swiss Patty Schnyder 6-7, 7-6, 6-2. Hewitt had been in deep trouble when Nadal strung together nine successive games to set up a two-sets-to-one lead before producing one of his greatest comebacks. “It’s amazing how many matches I’ve been able to win throughout my career by giving a hundred percent out there,” Hewitt said. “That never-say-die attitude, yet again, it gets me through another big match.” Nadal has been tipped as a future Grand Slam champion after helping Spain win last year’s Davis Cup and the 18-year-old said his performance against Hewitt had shown him he what it takes. “I am happy because he is number three in the world and I played the same as him today. If I play at this level, I can do important things this year,” Nadal said. It has been more than a quarter of a century since an Australian won either singles titles in Melbourne but the host nation is suddenly in with a chance of winning both after Molik scored the biggest win of her life. Unbeaten in the three tournaments she has played this year, Molik fired seven aces past a bewildered Williams to set up a meeting with world No.1 Lindsay Davenport on Wednesday — Australia Day. The Russians seemed to have the women’s tournament at their mercy after seven different players marched into the round of 16 but only two survived to the quarter-finals after the shock defeats of Myskina and Dementieva on Monday. The remaining Russians, Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, meet on Tuesday for a place in the semi-finals. Russia did at least have something to celebrate on Monday when Nikolay Davydenko beat Argentine Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 to join compatriot Marat Safin in the last eight of the men’s draw. Davydenko, the 26th seed, plays world No.2 Andy Roddick in the quarters after the American blasted Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 7-6, 6-1. — Reuters Ugly aussie or just Pushing the limit? Lleyton Hewitt plays within the rules but at times pushes it to the limit, says Argentina’s Guillermo Canas. Canas was speaking after compatriot Juan Ignacio Chela was fined $2,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct for spitting during his third-round center-court loss Saturday to Hewitt. Hewitt’s fist pumps, yells of “come on” and pointing toward his head and heart on key points have become a part of his on-court demeanor, sometimes appearing to upset his opponents. Canas says he spoke to Chela yesterday and he was “a little angry on court” after Hewitt had “said a few ‘come ons’ on unforced errors he made.”
