Home favourite Lleyton Hewitt fought back from two sets down to beat American Michael Russell 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the Australian Open first round.
Roared on by the crowd, Hewitt, seeded 19th, started slowly against the 28-year-old Russell, who raised his game to ease through the first two sets of the late match on Rod Laver Arena.
Russell also made an early break in the third set but former world number one Hewitt dug deep and found his range as his opponent, a qualifier for the tournament ranked 114th in the world, flagged.
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