Hewitt forces Nadal to dig deep for insane winner
Lleyton Hewitt's impressive form out of retirement has sparked a call for the Australian veteran to make a real comeback, although it's probably -- definitely -- not going to happen.
The 36-year-old will pair up with the retiring Sam Groth in the Australian Open doubles next week to farewell the 2015 Newcombe medallist.
Hewitt defeated Novak Djokovic, who is on his way back from injury, in the Tie Break Tens exhibition at Margaret Court Arena on Wednesday night.
He then brought the best out of Rafael Nadal, who had multiple opportunities to win the match before putting away the Australian for good.
One of the Spaniard's shots was an incredible running forward that had him celebrating like he had won a set in a grand slam final.
Watch the point in the video player above
"You miss playing in this big arenas against the best players in the world," Hewitt said after losing to Nadal.
"Just the format, it gives me some kind of chance to win some points against these guys."
His two opponents weren't surprised by Hewitt's competitiveness.
"I expected a very tough match," Nadal said.
"Lleyton is one of the greatest competitors of this sport and he's still very fit."
Djokovic first met Hewitt at the US Open in 2006, with the Australian winning in straight sets.
It's more than 11 years later but the Serbian is still impressed.
“I told him to come back," shared Djokovic.
"I really mean that. I know he’s been playing doubles but he’s still on in singles, that’s for sure.”
Djokovic had defeated Dominic Thiem at Kooyong earlier on Wednesday in his first match since Wimbledon.
He paid a wonderful tribute to his wife for her support during his time out injured:
