Lleyton Hewitt Vs. David Nalbandian: Have We Already Seen The Best Match Of The 2011 Australian Open?

It’s a rare occasion when a first-round Australian Open match can keep American viewers up all night chewing their fists, but on Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open, we’ve already seen it happen, with No. 27 David Nalbandian of Argentina defeating Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-1), 9-7 in a five-hour epic.
In the predawn hours of Tuesday morning on the East Coast, patrons actually attending the Australian Open were enjoying a balmy summer evening, and settling in for the final match of the night: Native Hewitt taking on a ranked opponent on Rod Laver Arena. We said in our rooting interests preview that Hewitt could flame out in the first round and it wouldn’t surprise anyone, and what we got was a flame-out, but viewers were treated to quite the fireworks show along the way. Even as the play clock neared the five-hour mark, Hewitt’s serve was recorded in excess of 190 mph. Long points characterized the match, though the night wasn’t without its share of well-timed aces. The officiating was largely level-headed throughout, though Nalbandian did get away with some racket histrionics in the fourth set. An apparent nagging leg injury to Nalbandian piled on the drama as the minutes wore on. And as is his wont, Hewitt changed his shirt three or four times, a series of images destined to become desktop wallpaper for swooning fans the world over.
The fourth set ran long, with Nalbandian winning 7-6 (7-1), but the fifth set hung on long enough for the rest of the country to enjoy the final minutes with the morning paper. Nalbandian ground out a 9-7 final-set victory over a raucous home crowd that gamely cheered Hewitt’s trudging away from the court, setting a high bar for entertainment the rest of the way through the tournament. Nadal, Murray, and Söderling all won their first matches hours before, but it’s 54th-ranked Hewitt that will be the talk of the day in Melbourne.

Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more on Day 2 of the 2011 Aussie Open, and visit SB Nation’s The Daily Forehand for more tennis news and analysis.