Third seed Lleyton Hewitt [Images] was ousted 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2 by bitter Argentine rival Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday.

The night match failed to produce the expected fireworks after last year's spiteful third-round clash when Chela was fined for spitting in the Australian's direction.

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Hewitt, the losing finalist in 2005, needed treatment including pain killers for a foot injury in Thursday's third set and recovered to force a tiebreak, which he won 10-8.

Unseeded Chela made no mistake in the final set, clinching victory with a whipped forehand service return on his first match point after almost 3-1/2 hours on court.

"It's the biggest (win) of my career. He's a good fighter, and in Australia in front of all the public, it was very special," Chela said through an interpreter.

"When I got on to the court I was just thinking about the tennis match and not about what happened last year."

Hewitt has failed to make the third round of a Grand Slam only once since 2002, at Wimbledon in 2003 when he was defending champion.

The 24-year-old has been struggling to regain form after missing the last two months of the 2005 season with leg and foot injuries, and the birth of his first child.

His loss to Chela followed early departures in warm-up events in Adelaide and Sydney.

Chela dragged Hewitt into long rallies and benefited from points gifted by wild forehands from the Australian. Hewitt also struggled with his serve.

Hewitt is renowned for his doggedness, and Chela proved he could also dig deep by saving seven set points in the third set before Hewitt was able to force the match to a fourth set.

The lanky Chela, whose whipped backhand earned him 23 winners, was able to break Hewitt early in the second game of the fourth set and held on despite needing treatment for cramps in his thighs as the match wore on.

SERVICE BREAK

Chela, 26, has never made it past the third round in Melbourne and his best performance at a Grand Slam was reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open in 2004.

He began strongly, stunning the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena by breaking Hewitt in the opening game.

Hewitt broke back immediately before Chela gained the advantage with another break of serve off a forehand error by Hewitt in the seventh game.

The pair traded two early service breaks in the second set before Chela gained the advantage in the ninth game with a pinpoint forehand winner.

Hewitt held a 3-0 lead in the third set before Chela broke back in the fifth game, at which point Hewitt called for treatment on his foot injury. He had his foot taped two games later and returned to take the set into a tiebreak.

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