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The never-say-die Australian went down typically with all guns blazing in a 4hr 48min epic five-setter against fierce rival David Nalbandian in a disappointing first-round exit from his record 15th straight Australian Open.
Hewitt, outside the 32 tournament seedings, played some of his best tennis to work his way to two match points, but could not convert as 27th seed Nalbandian powered home, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 9-7.
It was another crushing blow in Hewitt's crusade to win his home Grand Slam after getting to the 2005 final, where he was overcome by Russian Marat Safin's booming forehands.
It was Hewitt's fifth winless visit to the Open and he has been on the end of some difficult draws, bowing out to Roger Federer twice in the fourth round and Fernando Gonzalez in the early rounds.
Hewitt's ranking is expected to slip from a pre-tournament 54 to around 70 as he failed to protect his ranking points for a fourth-round loss to Federer here last year.
But despite the struggle to keep up with the younger tennis breed and fighting off injuries from his attritional playing style, Hewitt is looking ahead to the rest of the season.
"You can always improve. The bar's always getting raised by the top guys," Hewitt said.
"If I can stay fit and healthy and play a full calendar, then hopefully I can get better as the year goes on."
Hewitt is banking on his renewed association with veteran Australian coach Tony Roche to get him back up the rankings, and with it a more protective seeding at Grand Slam tournaments.
"There's small areas of my game that Rochey and I want to work on and we have tried to strengthen those up," he said.
"Some of those I feel I've been doing well in the last few weeks.
"There's still a few things there to work on."
Hewitt holds the Open Era (post-1968) men's record for most consecutive appearances at the Australian Open. Jack C and Harry Hopman both played in their 15th and final successive Australian Open in 1940.
No other Australian Open champion in the Open Era has had to wait as long as Hewitt to win their first title in Melbourne.
Another lingering concern for Hewitt, who turns 30 next month, is keeping injuries at bay after right hip surgery and a right hand injury last year.
Yet nothing has come easy for Hewitt and he has had to scrap for everything he has achieved, including the world number one ranking and the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon titles.
"It's frustrating," Hewitt said after his latest setback. "I'll sit back and go through it.
"It's disappointing to come so close and fight for so long and not able to quite get the win."
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