The two hour and eight minute upset saw Hewitt, 32, capitalise on a strong start which earned him a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory at a packed out Pat Rafter Arena.
Hewitt went in for the kill early and his initial assault caught the 17-time Grand Slam champion on the back foot, forcing Federer to play an error-riddled first set.
The Fed seemed uncharacteristically shaken, making 22 unforced errors, compared to Hewitt’s 3.
The Swiss star clutched his first break point of the match in the fifth game of the second set, but Hewitt smashed out a terrific lunging volley and which enabled the Aussie to hold serve.
Federer wrestled off a break point for 4-4 and, with Hewitt 40-0 up in the next game, and then the Swiss champ fought his way back to create a pivotal break before holding comfortably to claim the exciting set.
But a seemingly reinvigorated Hewitt was remorseless and unrelenting in his efforts and eventually became the unexpected victor of the match.
Despite the shock loss and his poor performance the Swiss champion seemed humble and had nothing but praise for his opponent.
“I didn’t play great today which is a bit unfortunate, but also Lleyton was the best player I played this week,” the 32-year-old said.
While being presented with the trophy, the Aussie seemed emotional, which is no surprise when you consider the veteran’s injury-plagued past 12 months.
“The most pleasing thing is what I’ve had to come through and the tough times in terms of surgery,” he said.
“Before the last surgery I made no secret, there was no guarantees I would be able to play again at all.”
Hewitt said his performance during the tournament would see him take a new sense of confidence with him to the Australian Open in Melbourne.
“If I play like I did this week, then I have a chance of doing some damage against serious players,” he said.
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