Lleyton Hewitt returns to torment Novak Djokovic at US Open 18 years after 3R beatdown, this time as Alexei Popyrin's mentor

Alexei Popyrin stunned the tennis world at the US Open on Friday night with arguably the biggest win of his career, defeating Novak Djokovic in front of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium. Fittingly, his countryman and senior, Lleyton Hewitt, was in his box for the encounter, as Hewitt was the last player to knock Djokovic out at this stage of the US Open.

Popyrin entered the contest without a win against Djokovic in their previous three encounters. Earlier this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, Popyrin took Djokovic to four sets each time before losing out to the Serb.

The 25-year-old Aussie, however, put all that to rest late on Friday night with an electrifying performance over the defending champion, sealing a 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 win, which included an astonishing 50 winners.

Among the thousands gathered at Arthur Ashe Stadium to witness the historic moment, one person stood out in particular—retired Australian star Lleyton Hewitt.

Hewitt was seen in Popyrin's box with his team, which included younger Aussie's coach, retired Belgian pro, Xavier Malisse.

During an interview with the media after his Masters 1000 win in Montreal this year, Popyrin expressed his admiration for Hewitt. He mentioned how helpful the latter has been for him and other Australian players in recent times.

"He’s been a big help," Popyrin said. "Lleyton’s been around the around the block, that’s for sure. At Wimbledon, in my second round, he actually stood in the corner for the whole match – five sets, four and a half hours. That’s the kind of person he is."

"He’s always there for all the Aussies he so it’s amazing to have him on our side. We definitely don’t take it for granted. Everything he says makes sense, and he tries to help all the boys," he added.

Interestingly, Hewitt was the last man in the open era to beat Djokovic in the third round of the US Open. He got the better of the then-19-year-old Serb in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 in the 2006 edition. That remained his only win against Djokovic, who got the better of him in all of their next six encounters on tour.

Hewitt reached the quarterfinals in New York that year where he went down to 2003 champion and home favorite Andy Roddick in straight sets.

Hewitt won 2 Grand Slam titles during his time career, once each at Wimbledon and the US Open. He beat the legendary Pete Sampras 7–6 (4), 6–1, 6–1 to win the 2001 US Open and David Nalbandian 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 en route to the Wimbledon title the following year.

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"No comparison" - Lleyton Hewitt once singled out Novak Djokovic as the greatest

Lleyton Hewitt at the 2024 Australian Open (Picture: Getty)

Lleyton Hewitt lavished praise on Novak Djokovic during an interview with "Fox Sports" in November last year, describing the 24-time Grand Slam winner as a champion without any comparison.

“There’s going to be no comparison at the end of his career in terms of his playing ability and the records … that he holds. It’s quite remarkable,” Hewitt said.

He attributed his success to his incredible match-awareness and ability to navigate through pressured situations.

“That’s why he holds all these records, because he’s able to do it in the pressure situation against the best players in the world timer and again," Hewitt continued.

The admission came on the back of the Serb's incredible 2023 season that saw him lift the titles in Melbourne and New York amongst others, and finish as the year-end No. 1 for a record 13th season.