Hewitt beats Zhang Ze at Australian Open

Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt beat Chinese wild card Zhang Ze 6-3, 1-6, 6-0, 6-4 in his 19th consecutive Australian Open on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old Hewitt won in 2 hours and 20 minutes with 26 winners on Rod Laver Arena.The former World No. 1 next foces Benjamin Becker from Germany.

After struggling 1-6 in the second set, Hewitt,the 2005 Australian Open runner-up, recovered with a love game in the third set and then sealed the victory 6-4 to become the seventh Australian male to advance to the second round.

"He is a shot-maker, he swings from the hip so I knew I would have some ups and downs and I had to weather the storm," Hewitt said after the game.

"I lost my rhythm there for a short period of time.It was really only the first game."

Zhang told reporters that he put his all into the fight, but didn' t handle some crucial points very well.

"Even though I lost the game but I gained some precious experiences and more confidence to play with top players in the Grand Slam. Plus I definitely need more strategy," the 24-year-old said. Endi