Live: Hewitt v Chela

Australian Open, second-round result:

L HEWITT Aus 3 v JI Chela Arg

4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 2-6

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Fourth set:

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 2-6 Chela
Despite a delightful repertoire of groundstrokes from Hewitt - including the lightest of drop volleys - Chela finds himself with a match point and he takes it straight away. He lets out a roar and is given warm applause from the crowd.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 2-5 Chela
There's wounded players either side of the court now - Chela appears to have cramp in his right leg. He still serves to love to leave Hewitt serving to stay in the match.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 2-4 Chela
This time it's Chela who calls the trainer but it doesn't seem like there's anything massively wrong - perhaps just a rub-down of some weary limbs. It gives Hewitt some brief respite and the home favourite seals his serve with some potent groundstrokes.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 1-4 Chela
Chela, back in a white shirt now after a brief foray in grey, is still being pushed to the limit by Hewitt's never-say-die attitude, which appears to be defying belief. Somehow the injured Australian brings up a break point but he knows it's costly when he fluffs it into the net. His error is greeted by a blast of "no way man". Chela smiles, settles and makes it 4-1.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 1-3 Chela
Hewitt limps throughout the game but still manages to win it. But it is surely only a matter of time before this match is over, what with Hewitt's current ankle complaint.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 0-3 Chela
Hewitt finally breaks his horror run and wins a point - only after Chela has won 10 on the trot. It's his sole point of the game though.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 0-2 Chela
Having got himself back in the driving seat, Hewitt switches off once more on his serve. It proves a gift game for Chela, who doesn't once stretch himself to win it. One wonders how much Hewitt's left foot is troubling him.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 0-1 Chela
The thrill of the tie-break moments ago is not repeated as a tired-looking Chela does just enough to fend off a surprisingly lethargic Hewitt.

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Third set:

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 7-6 (10-8) Chela
First off, it's 1-0 on serve to Hewitt as he does just enough with a volley, which Chela can't quite get back. And it's 2-0 moments later, which is met by a flurry of cheers from the crowd.

Hewitt is brimming with confidence, despite losing the next point, and holds a 4-1 advantage after a blistering smash and an ace in quick succession.

Then the net and a well-time serve and forehand combination take the number-three seed to four set points. But some hesitant play follows and he promptly loses all four chances. "Oohs" and "aahs" duly follow from the crowd.

Another two chances are in the offing, though... but he fails with those as well. Finally, at 9-8 up he makes it count with a backhand cross-court. He takes the set and he's back in the match.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 6-6 Chela
There's a massive "argh!" from the lips of Hewitt as he falls just short with one of his attacking strokes - it takes Chela 30-15 up. From there the first-round vanquisher of Britain's Andy Murray holds serve. Tie-break time...

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 6-5 Chela
Hewitt introduces each serve with a gentle blow on his fingers. It does the trick every time as he serves gloriously for a game to love.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 5-5 Chela
The Melbourne crowd comes to life as Hewitt wins the first point on Chela's serve. And the first real controversy of the night comes to the fore shortly afterwards as Chela argues his full-stretch forehand is in. The umpire disagrees and Hewitt gets a break point. A non-plussed Chela, though, wins the next three points and the third set continues.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 5-4 Chela
Chela seemingly takes a half-step back on the Hewitt serve before stepping in to pounce. It riles the Australian and brings the scores to deuce. To the audible relief of the crowd, however, Hewitt does just enough. The tensions building.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 4-4 Chela
Chela, having changed his white shirt for a blander grey, is in slight disarray as Hewitt ups his game - much to the delight of the crowd. But the Argentine unleashes an ace and two service winners to make the scores level once more. He does a spot of fist-pumping of his own to mark the event.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 4-3 Chela
The real scraps of earlier games temporarily fall by the wayside as Hewitt holds serve with ease - on this occasion by whipping the ball some way from Chela at the net.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 3-3 Chela
The injury time-out appears to affect Hewitt's concentration more of the pair. Chela holds his service to love and it's all square in the set.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 3-2 Chela
A grimace appears on Hewitt's face when he opts to leave a Chela forehand, only to see it hit the baseline. That's the first of three errors which enable Chela to break back. Hewitt promptly removes his left shoe and calls for the trainer.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 3-1 Chela
Hewitt is treated like a yo-yo by Chela as he is forced to fly from one end of the court to the other in repeated rallies. The Argentine wins the game as Hewitt's latest forehand hits the net cord and falls back on his side of the court.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 3-0 Chela
Hewitt is virtually unrecogniseable from the player he was in the first set. He out-stares Chela after a furious smash to go 30-0 up... and then a textbook cross-court volley seals the game.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 2-0 Chela
Hunched and focused on the baseline as he prepares to face each of Chela's serves, Hewitt decides to spring into action and throw absolutely everything at his opponent. It creates two opportunities to break and he makes it count with a shot down the line. Charmingly he celebrates by wiping a strink of bogeys from his nose.

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 1-0 Chela
It's clear Hewitt is well off his game when he hits the ball wide of the tramlines with one of his serves. It leaves him staring down the barrel of three break points. Remarkably he goes on to win the next five points and hold serve.

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Second set:

Hewitt 4-6 4-6 Chela
Hewitt, who has been hugely temperamental so far, almost plays an absolute blinder as his opponent serves for the set. Hewitt's secret on this occasion is just to keep on playing the ball back to Chela until he forces an error. Three times it works to give the Australian two break points. An ace negates the first, a service winner the second and the Argentine duly takes the set when Hewitt hits the ball wide.

Hewitt 4-6 4-5 Chela
Both players produce a series of unorthodox shots - Chela a Fabrice Santoro-esque patted volley, Hewitt a mis-timed drop shot, which adds further entertainment to an already gripping tie. In the midst of such histrionics, Chela ekes out another break-point opportunity, which is converted when Hewitt gets in a kerfuffle and scoops the ball from his feet past the baseline.

Hewitt 4-6 4-4 Chela
A shout echoes around Melbourne as a disgusted Hewitt reacts to another missed opportunity. But despite another lost game, he shakes himself off and gets ready for his latest serving effort.

Hewitt 4-6 4-3 Chela
Unforced error number 30 of the match is registered by Hewitt as he cracks the ball in the net to make it 30-30. He eventually settles and goes 4-3 up with a series of looping forehands, which seemingly fluster his on-court rival.

Hewitt 4-6 3-3 Chela
A now familiar shake of the head greets Hewitt's first error of the game, followed by a gentle wipe of his sweaty forehead a point later when he is wrong-footed and beaten down the line by a Chela forehand. It's all square in the set.

Hewitt 4-6 3-2 Chela
As is so often the case in Hewitt matches, this is turning into an almightily topsy-turvy contest. The Australian is totally out of the zone as Chela eases a break back.

Hewitt 4-6 3-1 Chela
Chela seems to switch off almost completely for his entire service game. He's never in the hunt, fails to even register a point and loses the game after the slightest of cross-court drop shots from Hewitt.

Hewitt 4-6 2-1 Chela
A second double fault of the match as well as two further unforced errors lose Hewitt the momentum... and the game. He shakes his head in anger at himself.

Hewitt 4-6 2-0 Chela
Hewitt opts for power rather than panache to bring a rare break point. He makes it count immediately, to the delight of the crowd, when he catches Chela in no man's land.

Hewitt 4-6 1-0 Chela
Hewitt seems to be plodding along nicely in his opening service game before Chela, as has been his wont so far, steps up a gear. It takes proceedings to deuce, but Hewitt does enough... and celebrates with a mini-skip to his seat.

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First set:

Hewitt 4-6 Chela
Hewitt tries to conjure up almost everything from his box of tricks in a bid to get back into the set. A deft drop shot and a stunning blast down the line are the pick of his stroke selection. In the end, though, his opponent - four inches taller than the Australian - outpowers him to take a one-set lead.

Hewitt 4-5 Chela
The biggest cheer of the night goes up as Hewitt holds with ease. There's little emotion on his face though as he returns to his seat at the change of ends.

Hewitt 3-5 Chela
Again it's all too easy for Chela on his serve. Hewitt's 17th unforced error takes it to 5-3 against the number-three seed.

Hewitt 3-4 Chela
A two-handed backhand down the line leaves the scrappy Hewitt facing 0-30. And then a double fault gives his opponent three break points, but he fails to take any of them. Another Hewitt error, however, gives Chela a further chance and the Argentine seals it taking a cross-court forehand while almost fully airborne.

Hewitt 3-3 Chela
Unlike Hewitt, Chela holds with ease - the game also brings up his first ace of the match.

Hewitt 3-2 Chela
Arguably the return of the match comes from Chela - a delightful backhand which completely wrong-foots Hewitt. It's enough to give him a break point in game five... but the wiley Hewitt mixes up his serve with aplomb to hold on with that and three subsequent break points. The array of shots in this latest game, suggest this could be a long and entertaining night for the crowd.

Hewitt 2-2 Chela
Already, the balls are taking an almighty battering from both players at the back of the court. On this occasion, Chela has the slightly better control over his power.

Hewitt 2-1 Chela
Normal service is resumed for Hewitt, in a garish yellow top. The number-three seed drops one point on his second service game.

Hewitt 1-1 Chela
A typically fired-up Hewitt brings up two break points after catching the line when he blasts the ball past Chela. The partisan crowd start celebrating the break the following point, but Chela just catches the line with a cross-court forehand. Those celebrations come to the fore once more - this time for real - when Chela smacks the ball into the net. It brings the first "come on" of the day from Hewitt.

Hewitt 0-1 Chela
In a bizarre opening game, Hewitt wins his opening two points despite two ugly mis-hits. But after that, he's not so fortunate as Chela takes the next four points for an early break.