Aussie Lleyton Hewitt wins four-hour thriller

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt found deep reserves of his famous fighting spirit to win a gripping four-set tussle with German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the Australian Open first round on Tuesday.

Hewitt, playing as a wild card after his ranking slipped to 181 following a injury-plagued year, fought back in the fourth set to knock out the 83rd-ranked Stebe, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in almost four hours.

The former world number one looked headed to a fifth set when he trailed 1-5 in the fourth, but he fought back courageously to deny left-hander Stebe before a partisan home crowd on Rod Laver Arena.

Hewitt will now take on American 15th seed Andy Roddick, who leads 7-6 in their meetings, with big-server Roddick winning the last six encounters.

"He got a little tight trying to serve out the fourth set," Hewitt said of Stebe. "I tried to make a lot of returns, put pressure on his second serve and turn it around.

"In the first couple of sets it could have gone either way but I served well when I needed to."

Hewitt broke Stebe's serve six times and made more errors than winners, but his never-say-die attitude proved the difference.

The Australian has been battling a toe injury and was noticeably limping in the latter stages of the epic. He collapsed to the deck in ecstatic celebration after the hard-earned win.

Hewitt, a runner-up in 2005, is playing in his 16th straight Australian Open and holds the all-time record for most consecutive appearances in his national Open, overtaking Jack Crawford and Harry Hopman.

The two-time grand slam champion's Australian Open match record now stands at 28-15.