Hewitt, who has been nursing sore thighs, had spent 14 1/2 hours on court -- twice as long as Roddick -- over of his previous five matches, including a four-hour, five-setter in the quarterfinals. But he still looked strong at the end, breaking an increasingly downcast Roddick for the first time while jumping ahead 3-0 in the fourth set.
Another break followed to make it 5-1, and Hewitt held for the match when Roddick sent a service return long.
Hewitt dropped to his knees, kissed the court and hit a ball high into the air as the crowd roared.
In the women's doubles final, US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova and Australia's Alicia Molik combined to down Americans Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu 6-3, 6-4. Davenport and Morariu lost to Serena Williams and Venus Williams in the 2001 doubles final here. In between, Morariu underwent chemotherapy treatment for leukemia and has had two shoulder operations.
Serena Williams isn't just a tennis player, she's also a fan of the game -- especially of top-ranked men's player Roger Federer.
So she was watching television nervously as Federer and Marat Safin played four hours Thursday night in a classic match that featured eight match points before the fourth-seeded Russian finally finished off the upset.
"I was dying," Williams said. "I couldn't watch at one more point. I turned [the channel] when Federer was down 5-2 in the fifth, and then I turned back, and I was like, `Oh, I hate to see him lose.' I turned back, and it was 6-all. I'm like, Oh, my God. But then I turned again because I couldn't bear to watch."
Williams sounded like a charter member of the Swiss star's fan club.
"I think he's an amazing athlete, just his ability is second to none," she said. "I learn so much from his game. He's just so smooth and so solid, effortless. So I look for a lot of things from him."
Still, Williams wasn't surprised that Safin won.
"I always thought Safin was a great player and I've always wondered why he didn't win more Slams," she said.
SHARAPOVA DONATES
Russia's Maria Sharapova has made a significant donation to the victims of last September's Beslan school siege in her homeland.
Wimbledon champion Sharapova on Friday donated the value of a Porsche car -- her prize for winning the WTA Tour Championships in November -- to those affected by the hostage crisis, in which more than 330 people, half of them children, died.
Sharapova was awarded a Porsche Cayenne S car, to be donated to the charity of her choice, following her win over Serena Williams in the season-ending championships.
She auctioned the vehicle, raising US$56,300 (43,200 euros), and at a ceremony in Melbourne on Friday presented the proceeds to the Russian ambassador to Australia, Leonid P. Moiseev.
"Making this donation was the least that I could do to help the innocent victims in my country who were tragically affected by this senseless act," Sharapova said in a statement.
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