Lleyt-night Thriller

Hewitt beats sixth-seed and former champion del Potro in a five-setter close to midnight on Friday

Lleyton Hewitt pulled off a stunning five-set win over Juan Martin del Potro at the U.S. Open after a classic late-night thriller between the two former champions on Friday. Twelve years after he upset Pete Sampras to win the U.S. Open,the 32-year-old Hewitt showed he still has plenty of fight left in him as he floored Del Potro 6-4 5-7 3-6 7-6 2 6-1 in a four-hour slugfest at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

8220;I don8217;t know how many years I have left in me so I was just hanging to get back on this court again,8221; said Hewitt,who also won Wimbledon in 2002 but has not tasted grand slam success since and tumbled to 66th in the world rankings. 8220;This is why I still play,to have moments like this.8221;

Del Potro,who beat Roger Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final and was among the favourites to win this year,had his chances but ran out of gas,unable to keep up with one of his childhood heroes,eight years his senior. 8220;Tonight was a really tough battle for both but in the end he played better,8221; the sixth seed said. 8220;He8217;s a great champion and a great fighter.8221;

Del Potro became the biggest casualty of this year8217;s championship,leaving the top half of the draw seemingly at the mercy of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray,who both overcame wobbles to win on Friday. Murray experienced a minor hiccup,dropping his first set of the tournament,but recovered quickly to beat Argentine baseliner Leonardo Mayer 7-5 6-1 3-6 6-1.

8220;It was a very tough match,8221; said Murray,whose next opponent is Germany8217;s Florian Mayer. 8220;Both of us did a lot of running.8221; Djokovic kept his perfect record intact after surviving an early test from Germany8217;s Benjamin Becker on a baking hot day at Flushing Meadows,where gusting winds provided little relief from the heat and made it hard for the players to hit cleanly.

The world number one saved two set points in the opening set before rebounding to win 7-6 2 6-2 6-2 and advance to the next round against Portugal8217;s Joao Sousa,a five-set winner over Jarkki Nieminen of Finland.

Meanwhile,the current world number one,Serena Williams,steamrolled her way into the fourth round of the women8217;s singles with a routine 6-3 6-1 win over Yaroslava Shvedova that didn8217;t finish until after 1 a.m. on Saturday.

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Serena faces a tricky next assignment against Sloane Stephens,who beat her at the Australian Open in January. Stephens earned her place in the fourth round by beating Jamie Hampton 6-1 6-3 in a battle between two of America8217;s brightest young prospects. China8217;s Li Na fired down 11 aces to defeat British teenager Laura Robson 6-2 7-5 to reach the fourth round while the ultra-consistent Agnieszka Radwanska wore down Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 7-6 1 to continue her impressive streak.

Her next match is against Russia8217;s Ekaterina Makarova,who eliminated Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki of Germany 6-4 7-5. If she wins,the third-seeded Pole will become the only woman to reach the last eight at all four grand slams this year.

Somdev,Bhupathi out

It was end of US Open campaign for Somdev Devvarman and Mahesh Bhupathi after they lost their respective hard-fought matches even as Rohan Bopanna had a mixed day. Somdev,who had qualified for the singles main draw,battled hard for two hours 40 minutes before losing 6-7 8,4-6 5-7 to Italian 20th seed Andreas Seppi.

Bhupathi,partnering comeback girl Martina Hingis in the mixed doubles event,lost 6-7 5 6-7 5 to Yung-Jan Chan and Robert Lindstedt in the first round. Bhupathi has already exited from the men8217;s doubles,so it is end of road for him. Bopanna advanced in the men8217;s doubles but suffered a shock first round exit in the mixed doubles along with third seed Julia Goerges.