Lleyton Hewitt refused to be drawn on his future after his 19th consecutive Australian Open appearance came to a heartbreaking end against Germany’s Benjamin Becker.

Hewitt produced some inspired tennis to race through the opening two sets on Rod Laver Arena against a player who had never won a five-set match.

Hewitt was unable to maintain that level and Becker roared back to secure a 2-6 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory in just over three hours.

Becker’s win over Andre Agassi in the third round of the US Open in 2006 prompted Agassi to retire, but the 33-year-old German said: “I hope it’s not Lleyton’s last match because then I get asked about it all the time. He is a great warrior, an unbelievable player, so I hope he continues.”

Asked about his future plans, Hewitt said: “I’ll sit down and think about it. I haven’t thought about anything.

“But obviously the Davis Cup is the next main thing. Now that we’ve got some guys playing really good tennis at the moment, it’s an exciting time.

“We have a good chance to possibly pull off an upset away (against the Czech Republic in Ostrava). That’s the next focus.”