Former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt made his final appearance at Wimbledon. 

The 2002 champion was beaten on in a five-set battle against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland to cap off an affinity with the grass courts which began in 1997.

One of the stars of the pre-Big Four era in tennis, Hewitt was involved in many epic matches at Wimbledon, although the 34-year-old did not get as far as the quarter-finals after 2009. 

He won in 2002 by defeating Argentina's David Nalbandian before falling in the first round in 2003 to Ivo Karlović, becoming only the second Wimbledon winner to fall at the first hurdle of his title defence.

The Australian also reached the 2005 semi-final but was defeated by Roger Federer who was on the third of his five titles in a row at the Grand Slam tournament.

Lleyton Hewitt acknowledges the crowd after losing to Jarkko Nieminen in their First round men's singles match on day one of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. (EMPICS Sport / EMPICS Sport)