Lleyton Hewitt has prolonged his professional tennis career for at least another couple of days by defeating fellow Aussie James Duckworth in the first round of the Australian Open.

Hewitt, 34, is playing in his final tournament before retiring and delighted the home crowd on Rod Laver Arena today.

Now ranked 308th in the world, the two-time Grand Slam winner won a close first set on a tie-break against Duckworth before wrapping up victory inside two-and-a-half hours with 6-2 and 6-4 successes in the second and third sets.

Hewitt will likely be on a show court again in the second round, where he faces much sterner opposition in eighth seed David Ferrer.