Hewitt finally topples Karlovic

PARIS (Reuters) - Leyton Hewitt felled lofty Croatian Ivo Karlovic 6-7 6-7 7-6 6-4 6-3 on Sunday to reach the second round of the French Open.

Standing at 2.08 metres, Karlovic is the tallest man in tennis and looked poised to hand the Australian his earliest Roland Garros defeat in a decade when he stole the opening two sets on tiebreaks.

Hewitt, never one to give up without a fight, hung on for almost four hours to seal his passage into the last 64 when Karlovic misfired a smash well beyond the baseline.

After beating the Croatian for the first time in four attempts, the former world number one celebrated his moment of triumph by saluting the crowd with a clenched fist.