Former world No 1 and crowd-puller Lleyton Hewitt showed no signs of the viral infection that forced him out of his country's Davis Cup reverse singles match against Serbia four days ago. Almost back to normal the Aussie chased down balls like a hare during a busy day at the Kingfisher Airlines Open here.

With rain having played havoc with the schedule for the first three days, Hewiit had a packed day in the office. But the second seed came through both tests with a minimum of fuss to storm into the quarterfinals of the $416,000 ATP Tour event on Thursday evening.

Having accounted for qu-alifier Ti Chen 6-3, 6-3 in the morning, the 26-year-old returned in the evening to overpower the temperamental Boris Pashanski 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

The Serbian did have Hewitt in a bit of trouble, but the Aussie, ranked 21 on the ATP list, played the big points better. Though there was nothing much to choose between the two, Hewitt did hold a slight edge.

After having traded breaks, Hewitt looked in danger of losing serve again in the 11th game immediately after a 45-minute rain interruption in the first set. But he saved them with brilliant serves before holding the serve. He played a good tie-break (7-2) to take the opening set.

An early break in the first game of the second did the trick. That broke the Serbian's resolve, while Hewitt broke again in the fifth game to come through with ease.

Light drizzle

Earlier, a light drizzle kept Hewitt waiting in the locker room a little longer than the scheduled start in the morning. Thankfully, it stopped just as quickly and the Aussie stepped on court to thunderous applause. But the gingerly Hewitt took a wee bit longer than usual to make a mark. In fact, he was playing catch up with the little-known Chen, who even had the first look at the Aussie's serve.

Hewitt, who committed far too many unforced errors, especially on his forehand, woke up from slumber in the sixth game. Down 15-40, the former world No 1 came up with two big serves to save the break points. The Taipei player then committed two straight forehand errors to let Hewitt off the hook.

By that time, he was moving like the Hewitt of yore -- last week's viral infection a distant memory. With his forehand beginning to find the corners than the net, he put Chen under pressure in the next game. An inside out forehand winner and a great volley gave him a break opportunity.

The nervy Chen hit a backhand wide to allow Hewitt take a 4-3 lead. The Aussie broke again in the ninth game to close out the first set. Then, having jum-ped to a 3-0 lead in the second, he eased his foot on the gas. Hewitt did show flashes of brilliance, but played well within himself for the most part.

Results:

Singles (II round): Nicolas Kiefer (Ger) bt Yen-Hsun Lu (Tpe) 6-3, 6-3; Fabrice Santoro (Fra) bt Nicolas Devilder (Fra) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2; Jarkko Nieminen (Fin) bt Toshihide Matsui (Jpn) 6-0, 6-4; Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) bt Boris Pashanski (Srb) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2.

I round: L Hewitt bt Ti Chen (Tpe) 6-3, 6-3; I Navarro bt Purav Raja (Ind) 6-4, 6-1; B Pashanski bt Sergio Roitman (Arg) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.