LLEYTON HEWITT yesterday produced one of the great modern performances by a local at the Australian Open when he defied injury and an indefatigable Rafael Nadal to reach to his first quarter-final at Melbourne Park.

Hewitt evoked memories of Pat Cash's epic final duel with Mats Wilander and Pat Rafter's agonising semi-final against Andre Agassi as he clawed his way back from two sets to one down against the extraordinary talent of Nadal.

The difference was that unlike Cash in 1988 and Rafter four years ago, Hewitt won 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 keeping his dreams of a home Grand Slam title intact.

Nadal is not in Wilander or Agassi's league just yet. However, few who saw him against Hewitt are likely to forget the splendid tennis he produced.

Hewitt predicted before the match that Nadal would be a Grand Slam winner one day. After nearly four hours on court, he was given little reason to change his mind.

But as shadows covered Melbourne Park last night, the moment belonged to Hewitt, who sharply divides opinion but refuses to lose.

Hewitt's history at the Australian Open is one of frustration and mishap but this time he drew on for motivation the happier experiences of big Davis Cup rubbers won against Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero on the same court.

Was there any moment last night when Hewitt had contemplated that he might not win?

"No, not really," Hewitt said. "You try to get all the negative thoughts out of your mind as much as possible. I tried to be as mentally tough as possible.

"I was hurting a little bit out there during the third set and I just told myself to hang in there and wait for the opportunities."

Hewitt knew he was in a dog fight from the opening game, when Nadal scorched an off-forehand across court to break serve.

The tennis which followed was simply breath-taking.

In Nadal, Hewitt found a player who could hit the ball as hard and as flat as he could, a shared ability to produce winners from almost anywhere in the court, and an equal appetite for a stoush. In Hewitt, Nadal found a rallying soulmate.

Even their accidental choice of matching outfits had them resembling baseline brothers rather than rivals at a Grand Slam.

Hewitt squared with the teenage Spaniard in the fourth game and broke Nadal again for a second time, when he was serving to stay in the first set.

The second set began in a similar fashion, with Hewitt immediately laying siege to Nadal's serve and establishing a 2-0 lead.

But just when it appeared that Hewitt had Nadal's measure, the 18-year-old produced some of his best tennis, breaking the Hewitt serve three times for the set to level the match.

From there, Hewitt's quest to become the first Australian man for 29 years to win a home Grand Slam took on a very different complexion.

With running match statistics flashing across the Rod Laver Arena scoreboard like a heart monitor, the life-blood began to drain from Hewitt's Open campaign point by point. With every game, his error count rose, matched only by the Spanniard's tally of winners. After Nadal took the third set, the reason became clear.

As Hewitt sat down for the change of ends, a courtside trainer appeared and began working on Hewitt's right thigh. Once he returned to the court, the extent of his discomfort was evident to everyone including Nadal.

Hewitt later explained the injury was a hip flexor strain he brought into the tournament; the same type of injury that briefly interrupted Agassi's preparations for the Open.

This is where Hewitt, once again, showed why he is not quite like other players. He began the set gingerly, but regained his stride as the tempo increased.

That Hewitt could stay in the match, let alone pressure Nadal on serve, says more for his freakish, competitive instincts than any amount of fist-pumping and aggressive celebrations.

And stay in the set he did, regaining momentum with each game won. By the time the set headed into a tiebreak, it was easy to forget Hewitt was injured at all. Indeed, Hewitt probably had himself.

The tiebreak which followed was faultless from Hewitt. The fifth and deciding set was largely a procession.

For more than three hours Nadal had done nearly everything right. Now it mattered little what he did, as Hewitt powered away to an epic victory.

This should not detract from the performance of Nadal, who was already the hottest teenage talent in men's tennis before he walked on to the court against Hewitt.

Not since Hewitt himself has tennis witnessed the emergence of a player with such dogged court coverage and refusal to concede any point.

For a window into Nadal's pyche, look no further than one point in the fourth set, and his preparedness to chase back under a Hewitt lob, get his racquet on the Hewitt overhead smash and put enough work on the ball to produce an error at the net.

Yet it is one thing to make Hewitt bleed; it is quite another to kill him. Hewitt is alive in this tournament and more to the point, a genuine contender.