A fired-up Lleyton Hewitt just fell short in his bid to steer Australia to an upset victory in their Davis Cup doubles showdown with the United States.
Hewitt and John Peers pushed American greats Mike and Bob Bryan to five sets but went down 6-3 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-3 to give the USA a 2-1 overall lead with the return singles remaining on Sunday at Kooyong.
Team captain Hewitt came out of retirement and replaced Sam Groth in the Australian combination alongside debutant Peers to take on the American twins in their World Group first round tie.
The new Australian duo looked down and out after losing the first two sets to the 16-time grand slam champions.
Hewitt lost his serve twice while doubles specialist Peers, otherwise impressive in his first Davis Cup appearance, was broken once.
But Hewitt, Australia’s most successful Davis Cup player of all-time, displayed his trademark fight to help claw their way back into the match and win the next two sets 6-4 6-4.
However the Americans showed their class to start the deciding fifth set with a bang and broke Peers early.
They raced to a 4-1 lead before Australia started to mount a challenge, breaking Mike Bryan.
His brother Bob, the better server of the pair, made no mistake when he got his opportunity to claim the match 6-3.
The deciding return singles between Bernard Tomic and John Isner and Sam Groth and Jack Sock will be played at Kooyong on Sunday.
Hewitt could substitute for Groth against Sock up to an hour before play.
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