Hewitt battles past Nalbandian

Lleyton Hewitt on Wednesday battled through the pain barrier to win a second straight five-set epic and book his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Hewitt again needed on-court treatment for a hip injury as he scraped past Argentina’s David Nalbandian in front of a capacity 16,000 crowd on Australia Day in Melbourne.

The third seed was three times within two points of defeat in the decider but eventually sealed a 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 victory in four hours five minutes, the fifth set taking an hour and 41 minutes.

It was a typical fighting display from the 23-year-old and not for the first time in the centenary championships there was obvious ill-feeling between the players.

Juan Ignacio Chela spat at Hewitt in their third round match after tiring of his frequent cries of ‘Come on’, especially after his own errors rather than Hewitt winners.

Nalbandian admitted before the game many players did not like the Australian’s antics and he and Hewitt twice exchanged words at the change of ends, also bumping into each other as they crossed at the net.

“He is not a gentleman,” said Nalbandian. “What he does is not good for tennis. His attitude speaks for itself.”

On the incident Hewitt would only say: “He brought it on himself a little. He sort of waited for a bit of a shoulder.”

Hewitt will now play Andy Roddick in the semi-finals, the second seed enjoying another easy day when Nikolay Davydenko retired with breathing problems in the third set.

Roddick, who was leading two sets to love and 4-1 at the time, has played just seven and a half hours compared to 14 and a half for Hewitt, but Hewitt is confident he will be fit for their Friday evening clash.

“He has an advantage because he’s in bed already but come Friday night I’ll be ready to go,” said Hewitt.

“A year ago on this day I lost and thank Christ I came away with a win tonight. I just kept hanging in there, it was always tough serving second in the fifth set. I told myself to give everything and in the end it paid off once again. Yet again the never-say-die attitude came out.

“It’s a long way from holding that trophy up there but I’m hanging in there. Only four guys left that can win and we’re the top four in the world. It’s set up for a pretty good showdown in the semis and finals.”

This was the first meeting between the pair since the 2002 Wimbledon final which Hewitt won for the loss of just six games.

And the 23-year-old looked on course for another easy win when he raced through the first two sets in 76 minutes to put one foot in the semi-finals.

Nalbandian had spent almost 13 hours on court before this match and could have been expected to fade in the third set as he tried to come back from two sets down for the first time in his career.

But in a strange third set – with fireworks celebrating Australia Day in a nearby park punctuating the exchanges – the ninth seed broke Hewitt’s serve three times in succession to take it 6-1 in just 30 minutes.

Hewitt had needed treatment for a hip injury during his epic five-set win over Rafael Nadal in the previous round, and he called for the trainer again after losing the fourth set 6-3.

After the players had swapped breaks in the first two games of the set, Hewitt served two double faults in a row to gift Nalbandian another break in the fifth game.

Another break three games later meant the Argentinian had the advantage of serving first in the decider.

It was Hewitt who came closest to breaking serve however, and he could have been made to rue netting a simple forehand in the 11th game.

But the former world number one finally made the vital breakthrough in the 17th game and served out for a stunning victory.

Earlier in the day Roddick’s stroll through the championships continued when Davydenko indicated he was unable to continue in the stifling heat in Melbourne.

The Russian had received treatment on court during the second set, using an inhaler and wearing an ice vest during the change of ends as he seemingly struggled to catch his breath.

He surprisingly managed to break Roddick’s serve on the resumption but eventually lost the set 7-5 and decided enough was enough after going two breaks down in the third set.

“The only other time I got this far at the Australian Open, I felt like I was about to fall over walking out to my semi-final match,” said Roddick, referring to his quarter-final win over Younes El Aynaoui in 2003, which he won 21-19 in the fifth set.

“It’s been pretty smooth sailing so far, as much so as I’ve ever had being in this position in a Grand Slam. That could end up being a good thing. I don’t have many miles on me so far this tournament.

“It’s weird. If I had gone through long matches, I’d be sitting here telling you I’m glad I had gotten through the long matches because I know I’m ready.

“Since I haven’t, I’m going to sit here and say I’m glad I’m fresh, my body’s feeling good. So either way I’m a liar. And you guys will never know what I’m actually thinking!”

Davydenko had beaten Britain’s Tim Henman in the third round but admitted he may not have been able to continue against Guillermo Canas in the last 16 if he had not won in straight sets.

“I think about 3-3 all in the first set I started feeling something,” he said.

“If we play short points it was okay but then a few points were long and I was feeling something, I cannot breathe. For me, today was really hot.

“I cannot run, I cannot control my ball, everything. I am missing everything. I try to do something and call the doctor and take a break for five minutes. Maybe there is some problem with me. I want to check.”