Hewitt winds back the clock in Sydney

Lleyton Hewitt has wound back the clock with an impressive display of tennis against the world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov, despite the Australian retiring from tennis in 2016.

The 36-year-old has embarked on a comeback to play in the Australian Open men's doubles with Sam Groth, who has decided to hang up the racquet after the tournament.

He showed remarkable skills against his Bulgarian opponent in a Fast4 exhibition match at Ken Rosewall Arena on Monday night.

Dimitrov, who was 10 years old when Hewitt first reached the top of the world rankings in November 2001, paid tribute to the two-time grand slam winner during a break in play.

"I love playing against Lleyton," he told Channel 7.

"He was my inspiration coming up for me to play tennis and to be professional.

"His fighting spirit, his respect for the game, and overall loving tennis is just so unbelievable. I'm pretty honoured to be on court with him right now."

Hewitt's physicality on the court appeared to take the Sydney crowd -- and Dimitrov -- by surprise.

Dimitrov won the shortened match in straight sets.