Lleyton Hewitt hanging tough in Wimbledon last waltz

London: Lleyton Hewitt prolonged his Wimbledon swansong the hard way on Thursday as he and fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis came back from two sets down to stay alive in the men`s doubles.

The 34-year-old 2002 champion`s Wimbledon singles career came to an emotional end on Monday in a five-set, first round defeat against Jarkko Nieminen, denying Hewitt a Centre Court shot at defending champion Novak Djokovic.

But the former world number one was not going to let a Finn get the better of him twice at the All England Club.

Wildcards Hewitt and Kokkinakis won 6-7 (6/8), 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2, 8-6 against 15th seeds Henri Kontinen and Croatia`s Marin Draganja in a gruelling first round contest that lasted nearly four hours.

Hewitt also has one more shot at a Wimbledon title. He was granted a wildcard entry into the mixed doubles with compatriot Casey Dellacqua.