MELBOURNE (Reuters) -- Third seed Lleyton Hewitt battled back from the brink of defeat to beat rising Czech Robin Vik 6-4 2-6 5-7 7-6 6-3 in the first round of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Vik surprised an out-of-sorts Hewitt, mixing bold ground strokes with subtle drop shots to unsettle the world number six.

The Czech served for the match in the 12th game of the fourth set but Hewitt broke to force a tiebreak, which he won 7-4.

Hewitt called on his renowned fighting qualities to turn the course of the match and then raced away as 58th-ranked Vik wilted under the pressure, serving two double faults on the way to surrendering serve in the final game after almost four hours.

Hewitt will play the equally feisty Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina in the second round.

Chela was fined after spitting in Hewitt's direction during a fiery third round match in Melbourne last year.

"I wouldn't call him my mate," Hewitt said when asked if they had patched up their differences.

Although 25 years old, Vik is one of the rising stars of the game after improving his world ranking by 362 places in 2005, a rate of improvement bettered only by British teenager Andy Murray.

Chela beat Murray 6-1 6-3 6-3 earlier on Tuesday.

Hewitt has been struggling to regain form after missing the last two months of the 2005 season following leg and foot injuries and the birth of his first child.