Australian native Lleyton Hewitt, the obvious fan favorite for the Australian Open, almost didn’t have a chance to make a long run in front of the home crowd.  Hewitt needed a 3 hour, 45 minute five set comeback to defeat lesser known Robin Vik.  Last year Hewitt made it all the way to the finals but lost to Martin Safin.

Hewitt has yet to win the Australian Open in his career, just as England native Tim Henman is the crowd favorite for another major, Wimbledon.  Interesting note, Henman’s best performance at Wimbledon was in 2002, where he made it all the way to the semi-finals but lost to eventual champ Lleyton Hewitt.

The big time U.S. players to have already been eliminated are #10 Venus Williams and #13 Robby Ginepri, with second round matches almost completed.