SYDNEY, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian professional tennis player and former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has moved into the last 16 at the U.S. Open after beating Russian Evgeny Donskoy at Flushing Meadows on Monday (Australian Eastern Standard Time), local media reported.

Hewitt defeated Donskoy 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-1 in two hours 55 minutes on the Grandstand court.

The 32-year-old Australian veteran has missed a lot of tennis over the past few years after undergoing a series of surgeries to correct a chronic toe injury, but he has recovered well and is in good form.

"It's always great to come back to New York where it all started for me," Hewitt said after the match.

"I feel good, I have had three tough matches where I have had to keep bouncing back."

Hewitt said he got into a rhythm on the back of a strong service game as the match went on.

"I felt like I had really good rhythm out there and obviously playing the better players moving forward in the tournament, it makes the matches so much easier."

Hewitt will face either Germany's 12th seed Tommy Haas or 21st-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny for a place in the quarter-finals.