Lleyton Hewitt faced off against Juan Martin Del Potro on Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in the second round of the US Open on Friday. After four hours of play, Hewitt upset the sixth-seeded del Potro.

Former champions Hewitt, 32, and del Potro went back and forth during the course of the prime-time match – 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1. The length of the match did del Potro no favors, as he’s yet to fully recover from an injury to his left wrist and he’d played a 4 hour, 13 minute first round match against Garcia Lopez. He also had to contend with Hewitt, who is known to be one of the best five-set competitors in the sport.

"It’s amazing,’’ Hewitt said following his win. "I don’t know how many years I’ve got left in me — I keep getting asked the question, so I was hanging to get out and play on this court and try and put on a great show.

’’A couple of years ago, when I had a couple of foot surgeries, I didn’t know if I was going to play tennis again… This is why I play, to have moments like this.’’

Arguably past his prime, Hewitt credits his current level of fitness and enduring desire to be victorious with leading him to his win against del Potro. When the match went into its fifth set, the 2001 champion knew he had an advantage on the 2009 winner. With the win, Hewitt moves on to the third round to face Russia’s Evgeny Donskoy.

– Chelsea Regan

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