Lleyton Hewitt continued his attack on tournament officials after enhancing his status as the comeback king of men's tennis to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the first time.

Hewitt likened the Rebound Ace court surface at Melbourne Park to the clay of Roland Garros after squeezing past gifted young Spaniard Rafael Nadal in a five-set cliffhanger.

An injured Hewitt willed himself to a courageous 7-5 3-6 1-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 triumph over the big-hitting left-hander to finally bury his fourth-round hoodoo at his home grand slam.

The former US Open and Wimbledon champion had tripped up in the round of 16 on three previous visits to Melbourne, in 2000, 2003 and last year.

But this time he simply refused to surrender to physical adversity or a precociously talented rival who last year claimed the mighty scalps of world No.1 Roger Federer and the second-ranked Andy Roddick.

Hewitt required medical treatment after the third set for a hip flexor injury that threatened to end his Open dreams.

But after taking a nerve-wracking fourth-set tiebreak, Australia's former world No.1 - having steeled himself with repeated urgings of "no pain, no pain" - won the first nine points of the deciding set to blow the match wide open.

The sport's fiercest competitor eventually prevailed on his third match point after three hours and 53 tension-filled minutes.

But rather than bask in his glory, Hewitt took a tongue-in-cheek crack at officials for preparing the courts to be painfully slow.

"Feels like I made the quarters of the French Open this year, so it's good," Hewitt said before defending his opinion on the contentious matter.

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