Lleyton Hewitt has set up a repeat of his 2008 epic against Marcos Baghdatis by powering past American Donald Young in the second round of the Australian Open.
The No.22 seed had to work hard in the opening two sets, but he had Young's measure on the big points and went on to win 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-1.
Hewitt's reward is a third-round clash with Baghdatis, whom he beat at the same stage at Melbourne Park two years ago in a five-set classic that did not end until 4.34am - the latest-ever finish to a grand slam match.
Baghdatis, the 2006 Open runner-up, was also impressive in beating No.17 seed David Ferrer of Spain in a five-set thriller on Thursday.
Hewitt bolted out of the blocks to a 4-1 lead in the opening set, only for Young to steady and take it to a tiebreaker which the Australian won 7-3.
Hewitt 'last Aussie standing'
Playing his best tennis of the match, Young broke early in the second set, before Hewitt reeled off the last three games of the set to take a stranglehold on the match to the delight of the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
The third set was one-way traffic, with Hewitt - the last Australian man still alive in the singles draw - pressing home the advantage.
He broke the left-handed Young's serve in the second and sixth games and never looked like giving up the advantage, closing out the victory in exactly two hours.
The winner of Saturday's Hewitt-Baghdatis match is likely to meet world No.1 Roger Federer in the round of 16.
Baghdatis cramped late in his win over Ferrer but he held on to advance to the third round at the grand slam tournament where he has enjoyed the most success.
Baghdatis unseeded at Open
The 24-year-old Cypriot is unseeded at Melbourne Park this year having battled back and wrist injuries for much of 2009, although he finished 2009 strongly with a tournament victory in Stockholm.
With Hewitt still to begin his match against Young when Baghdatis completed the victory over Ferrer, he was reluctant to look too far ahead in the draw.
"I'm very happy I won (so) I don't think about Lleyton for today," he said.
"I'll start thinking about him tomorrow and the day after.
"Today I just want to enjoy my victory and think about all the positive things from this match."
