Lion-hearted Lleyton Hewitt has fallen painfully short of extending his Wimbledon career and joining seeded stars Nick Kyrgios, Bernard Tomic and Samantha Stosur in the second round.
Hewitt saved three match points before succumbing 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-0 11-9 to evergreen Finn Jarkko Nieminen in a pulsating encounter lasting one minute shy of four hours.
Three times Hewitt enjoyed a service break in the epic deciding set only to falter and effectively pass the baton to Kyrgios, Tomic and Thanasi Kokkinakis after a storied 17-year professional career.
The 34-year-old plans to retire after making a record 20th success Australian Open appearance next January and will likely play only Davis Cup before the Melbourne Park major.
The former world No.1 promised to empty the tank in his Wimbledon swansong – and he did.
The father-of-three’s 17th and last tilt at the All England Club featured vintage backhand topspin lobs and a series of remarkable Boris Becker-like diving volleys.
And of course a ton of courage.
After receiving treatment for thigh and toe troubles, Hewitt looked down and out when he trailed 15-40, serving at 4-5 in the epic final set.
But after delivering an unreturnable wide-angled serve, Hewitt saved a second match point with a lunging forehand volley and then a third with another bold advancement to the net.
But nine games later, Hewitt finally submitted, firing a forehand long as Nieminen secured a second-round date with world No.1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic.
“I was always going to leave it out there, everything I had in the tank. I certainly did that,” Hewitt said.
“I didn’t leave any stone unturned preparing, but also on the match court today.
“There was a couple of times the match could have gotten away from me at certain stages and I found a way of hanging in there.
“In the end, obviously it’s disappointing to lose. I would have loved to have played Novak in the next round.
“But Jarkko is a tough competitor and it was never going to be easy.”
Hewitt’s marathon match was in stark contrast to Kyrgios’s 84-minute cakewalk against Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
The 26th seed’s biggest concern in a 6-0 6-2 7-6 (8-6) victory was the chair umpire, with Kyrgios threatening a mid-match strike during a dispute with Mohamed Lahyani during the third set.
Kyrgios, though, regained his composure to advance to a second-round meeting with unseeded South American Juan Monaco.
“I came out strongly. I haven’t played too much tennis lately. I’ve been sick,” said Kyrgios, who has been battling a sinus infection and elbow soreness that restricted him to one match since the French Open.
“But it’s great to be back on the grass. I barely missed a ball for the first two sets and I’m going to gain so much confidence out of that third set. I had to dig deep.”
Tomic will play French qualifier Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Wednesday for a likely crack at Djokovic after rallying for a spirited 6-3 3-6 2-6 6-2 6-3 win over big-hitting German Jan-Lennard Struff.
Stosur, who has ventured beyond the second round just twice in 12 previous visits to the All England Club, made a promising start to her campaign with a 6-4 6-4 success against Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic and next faces Pole Urszula Radwanska.
Wildcard Matt Ebden thumped Slovenian Blaz Rola 6-2 6-1 6-4 before qualifier John Millman gave Australia five winners on day one with a 6-2 6-3 6-4 upset win over Spanish 19th seed Tommy Robredo.
But Kokkinakis, Marinko Matosevic, qualifiers Luke Saville and John-Patrick Smith and rising youngster Daria Gavrilova all crashed out on the opening day.
Argentina’s 24th seed Leonardo Mayer ousted an ailing Kokkinakis 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 in a punishing three-hour three-set encounter.
Matosevic went down 5-7 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-3 to British wildcard Liam Broady, the Victorian’s 11th straight defeat, while Smith also blew a two-set advantage in a 4-6 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-4 loss to French qualifier Kenny De Schepper.
French 21st seed Richard Gasquet eliminated Saville 6-3 6-2 6-2 before Saville’s girlfriend Gavrilova lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 to Romania’s 29th seed Irina Begu.
