New York: A fist-pumping Lleyton Hewitt turned back the clock as he wore down an injured Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-0 7-6(2) 1-0 on Tuesday to extend his U.S. Open grand slam goodbye.

Playing on a small outside court in the shadow of the massive Arthur Ashe Stadium that provided the stage 14 years earlier for the brash Australian’s win over Pete Sampras in the U.S. Open final, Hewitt typically appeared up for a fight.

Set to retire after next year’s Australian Open, Hewitt may have lost a step and his groundstrokes are not quite as ferocious but the 34-year-old showed he has lost none of his combativeness, particularly in a ruthless first set that ended with Nedovyesov calling for the trainer to treat his shoulder.

With his wounded opponent on the ropes, Hewitt showed the Kazak no mercy and forced the second set to a tiebreak which he easily won 7-2. After the Australian grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third, Nedovyesov threw his racquet towards his chair and waved the white flag.