Lleyton Hewitt has made his earliest ever exit from the US Open as he was thrashed 6-3 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-1 by Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round.

Hewitt admitted he was unable to compete fully against the Frenchman due to the after-effects of surgeries to his hip and knee earlier this year which are still resricting his movements. 

He has also not been able to play and practice much since the operations, and in fact, has only played three and a half matches since the Australian Open back in January.