I had to pinch myself, says Lleyton Hewitt of surprise victory over Del Potro
Former world No 1 surprises with five-set defeat of ex-champ Del Potro after radical foot surgery
Eighteen months after undergoing radical foot surgery, Lleyton Hewitt admitted that he had surprised even himself with his five-set US Open win over 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro.
The 32-year-old's 6-4, 5-7, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 second-round victory against the Argentine sixth seed recalled his golden days, when the Australian was number one in the world and collected the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles.
"It's an amazing feeling. For me, just going back in the locker room afterwards, I sort of had to pinch myself," said Hewitt, now down at 66th in the world.
"Yeah, I keep going back to it, but a year and a half ago I got told I would probably wouldn't play again with the surgery I had."
That surgery in February last year meant undergoing a radical operation, which required bone being cut from the big toe of his left foot and two screws and a metal plate permanently locked in. "I must have seen seven, eight different surgeons worldwide. At least six of them told me to retire if you have it done. I'm very thankful that I found the guy that I believed in.
"We went in there and were optimistic about it. We thought I might be able to play doubles, but we weren't 100 per cent sure whether I would be able to come back and play singles."
Friday's triumph on the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court, where he beat Pete Sampras for the 2001 title, was his 32nd career five-set victory and gave him a third round match-up with 23-year-old Russian Evgeny Donskoy, the world number 102.