By Julian Linden
Reuters
January 24, 2025

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australia's Lleyton Hewitt survived a testing encounter with Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal on Saturday to book his place in the fourth round of the Australian Open (news - web sites).

Hewitt won the match 7-6, 7-6, 6-2 but the scoreline did not reflect the true intensity of the challenge provided by the 17-year-old Spaniard.

"He's a hell of a player," Hewitt said. "It was a lot tougher than I expected. I really had to raise my game.

"He really went up another couple of levels tonight.

"He's a great player. All the good stuff you've heard and seen about him...he's going to be very good in a couple of years."

Hewitt, the 15th seed, next faces Switzerland's Wimbledon (news - web sites) champion Roger Federer in a mouth-watering fourth-round battle.

Considered the hottest prospect in men's tennis, Nadal showed no sign of stage fright despite playing in front of a full house on the Rod Laver center court.

"I was nervous at the beginning of the match, just like any other match," he said through a translator.

"I don't think I was overawed, well not much."

Nadal twice fought his back from a break down to force a tiebreaker but the experience of 22-year-old Hewitt, who remains the youngest man in history to finish the year ranked number one in the world, proved decisive.

PINNED BACK

He pinned Nadal back on the baseline and kept the ball away from his preferred forehand until the left-hander's patience ran out and he made some vital mistakes.

Nadal led 2-0 in both tiebreaks but lost them both and Hewitt grabbed a crucial early break in third set when the Spaniard messed up a drop shot.

"I played pretty well tonight, I went hammer and tongs from the baseline," Hewitt said.

"Even the times I got broken he played a couple of incredible points but I was really happy with the way I played in the breakers."

A natural athlete whose uncle Miguel Angel Nadal is a professional soccer player, Nadal first came to attention when he won his first ATP match at 15 years and 10 months in 2002.

He was the ninth player since tennis turned professional in 1968 to register a victory before his 16th birthday.

Nadal made his grand slam debut at Wimbledon last year, becoming the youngest man to reach the third round on debut since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984.

He is already been tipped as future world number one but is trying to keep a lid on expectations.

"I hope that one day I can reach that level but it's going to depend on a lot of things, not just tonight's match," he said.