When weary American Andy Roddick finally walked out of the All England Club on Wednesday, he could be excused a quick glance down to check whether Lleyton Hewitt was still attached to his leg.
The 26-year-old pelted Hewitt with 43 aces and spent almost four hours trying to shake off the Australian terrier before eventually extricating himself long enough to claim a 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 victory in an outstanding Wimbledon quarter-final.
"It was tough from a mental standpoint because Lleyton wasn't going away," Roddick, who levelled their career series at 6-6, told reporters.
"Not pulling out that second set breaker was huge. At that point I was odds on and instead, it's a one-point difference and it's a battle. The fifth set was a dogfight."
Hewitt, the 2002 champion here, stole the second set after saving three set points but was staggering after losing the third, clearly in discomfort with a thigh injury that flared up during his five-set defeat of Radek Stepanek on Monday.
However, lying down like a faithful old labrador is not in his DNA and he was soon snapping back at Roddick's heels in the fourth as the crowd willed him to take it to a decider.
He duly obliged, swiping a clean winner past Roddick in the 10th game and then forcing his opponent to slice a backhand wide as the shadows overtook Court One.
There was barely a cigarette paper between the two former world number ones in the final set as they slugged it out like a couple of old prizefighters. Roddick flinched at 1-2, fending off three break points as Hewitt sensed an improbable winner.
However, at 4-4, Hewitt loosened his grip and Roddick dipped a forehand past him at the net to break. Roddick wrapped it up when his opponent volleyed long and after a warm exchange at the net the American sportingly applauded Hewitt's vocal 25-strong fan club who helped create a superb atmosphere.
While Roddick, twice a runner-up here to Roger Federer in the days when he was regarded as the Swiss maestro's main rival, can now look ahead to meeting Britain's Andy Murray in his first Wimbledon semi-final since 2005, Hewitt can look back on another great run with pride.
The 28-year-old has lost a little sting in his groundstrokes and is not quite as jet-heeled as he once was, but his tennis brain is razor sharp, his accuracy undiminished and his appetite for a scrap as rapacious as ever.
With no other Australian man in the draw, Hewitt remains a golden nugget for his country and the tennis authorities Down Under should wrap the lone warrior up in cotton wool between Grand Slams until somebody else comes along.
"I think we were both giving everything we had out there," Hewitt, who has climbed the rankings again after hip surgery last year, told reporters.
"I don't think either of us left anything in the locker room, that's for sure. We were both going pretty hard out there."
Roddick will need to recover quickly to face Murray, who looks the only player capable of stopping Roger Federer winning a 15th Grand Slam title on Sunday. Hewitt, for one, thinks the American will have his work cut out.
"Roddick's gonna have to play a helluva match to beat him," Hewitt said, although Roddick said he will not be disturbed by taking on Murray and a whole nation on Friday.
"I'm just gonna pretend when they say 'C'mon Andy', that they mean me," Roddick fired back.
