Lleyton Hewitt moves into final 16 at Flushing Meadows Lleyton Hewitt continues to fly the flag for Australia at the US Open, defeating Evgeny Donskoy in four sets to reach the fourth round. Lleyton Hewitt reacts after defeating Russia's Evgeny Donskoy in the third round at Flushing Meadows Source: AP ROGER Federer and Rafael Nadal have led the plaudits for Lleyton Hewitt after the Australian veteran moved into the last 16 at the US Open. Hewitt, 32, the champion at Flushing Meadows in 2001, recovered from a lapse in the second set to defeat Russia's Evgeny Donskoy 6-3 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-1 in two hours and 55 minutes on the Grandstand court this morning (AEST). Hewitt will face 21st-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny for a berth in his first quarter-final at a major since Wimbledon in 2009. Youzhny accounted for 12th-seeded German veteran Tommy Haas 6-3 6-2 2-6 6-3 in their third-round match. Riding strong crowd support at Flushing Meadows after recovering from five surgeries in recent years, Hewitt won 24 of 31 points at the net in an aggressive display. "It's always great to come back to where it all started for me," he said. The atmosphere in New York suits my personality. It's a lot of fun here, always. Federer revealed he trained with Hewitt for three hours on the opening day of the event. "I practised with him earlier this week, I think on Monday for three hours, and he was looking great," Federer said. I'm very happy for him. Lleyton has been one of my biggest rivals on tour, so I always like to see him do well, particularly here under the lights in New York. He deserves it. He's gone through a lot. Both Federer and Nadal had watched Hewitt's five-set thriller against Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro on Friday night. "I saw some of the second set and literally the last game in the fifth when I came back from dinner," Federer said. Nadal added: "I watched a lot of moments of the match. For Lleyton to still be on the tour with motivation to keep playing and fighting, that is something I admire a lot in him.