NEWS 2009

December 28

Revitalised Hewitt primed for 2010

DARREN WALTON

December 28, 2009 - 2:24PM

AAP

Retirement is a dirty word for Lleyton Hewitt as the rejuvenated former world No.1 enters the new year once again with grand slam intentions. Hewitt can't wait to launch his summer campaign on Saturday at the Hopman Cup in Perth after reviving his career in 2009 under former junior doubles partner Nathan Healey.

After parting ways with champion coach Tony Roche, Hewitt slashed his ranking from 109th in February to a year-ending No.22 with Healey fulltime in his courtside box. The pair have lofty ambitions for Hewitt's 13th full season on the ATP Tour.

"I'd love to get back into the top five as soon as possible," Hewitt told fans on his personal website. "Obviously the four majors for us is the priority.

"The Australian Open and Wimbledon are probably not only mine but also Nathan's favourite two tournaments, so it'd be great to do well at those two tournaments and have a shot at those. "The Australian summer is obviously the main priority, trying to get ready for the Hopman Cup and then obviously Sydney leading into the Australian Open in Melbourne.

"That's where we want to get the damage done."

Now based in the Bahamas, Hewitt has spent the past five weeks in Sydney training hard with Healey and conditioner Nathan Martin and says he's enjoying the new coaching arrangement after two years with Roche.

"Nathan and I spent a lot of time together growing up and we know each other's games extremely well and he obviously knows the way I play as well as anyone around the world," the former US Open and Wimbledon champion said.

"Nathan has a young family, wife Marnie and a young daughter Anna, who gets on extremely well with my two kids Mia and Cruz, so we've got a lot of things in common and we really like to spend a lot of quality time together on and off the tennis court."

Like fellow 28-year-old Roger Federer, Hewitt is a young veteran these days but has no plans of retiring any time soon after making an impressive comeback this year from career-saving hip surgery in August 2008.

"He's got another two or three years on tour and I would like to think that by the middle of the year he'd be knocking on the door of the top 10," Hewitt's manager David Drysdale said. "He's got renewed enthusiasm, which is fantastic. He's really fit and his body's feeling good and that will probably dictate how long he keeps playing for. "But he's most definitely not thinking of retirement."

The highlights of Hewitt's 2009 season were runs to the Wimbledon quarter-finals - after ousting soon-to-be US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets in the opening round - and to a drought-breaking claycourt title in Houston in April.

All up, he reached seven quarter-finals, two semis and a final and conquered French Open runner-up Robin Soderling in Cincinnati before rounding out his encouraging US hardcourt campaign with a four-set loss to Federer at Flushing Meadows to signal he was close to back to his best.

"You wouldn't swap his experience or passion and you know the top players still respect and fear him," Drysdale said. "And when that comes into play, anything can happen."

Hewitt will team with women's world No.13 Samantha Stosur at the Hopman Cup, where the top-seeded Australians take on Romanians Victor Hanescu and Sorana Cirstea first up on day one of the mixed teams' event.

December 27

LLEYTON Hewitt will this week end a three-month absence from competition, the fittest and and strongest he has been in years.

Ranked 22nd in the world, Hewitt will enter his 13th season on the international tour without injury. The former world No. 1 last appeared at Shanghai in October, falling to Frenchman Gael Monfils in the second round in a fierce three-setter.

The Wimbledon and US Open winner has since prepared for the new season with coach Nathan Healy and trainer Nathan Martin. The results of an intense off-season program have left Hewitt's camp beaming.

"Lleyton's in the best shape he's been in for a couple of years," Hewitt's manager David Drysdale said. "He's been working extremely hard and he's raring to go.

"He's been hitting in the mornings and doing fitness and strength work in the afternoon. He's pumped and ready."

Hewitt will partner world No. 13 Sam Stosur, who also uses Martin's conditioning, in this weekend's Hopman Cup in Perth. The pair will face stiff opposition in Group A from Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez and Tommy Robredo as well as Americans Melanie Oudin and John Isner.

Romania, represented by Sorana Cirstea and Victor Hanescu, are another obstacle for the host nation. Great Britain's Andy Murray and Australian-born Laura Robson, German's Sabine Lisicki and Philipp Kohlschreiber and Russia's Elena Dementieva and Igor Andreev will fight for Group B honour alongside Kazakhstan.

Australia and Romania will clash in the opening match on Saturday. Drysdale said Hewitt was looking forward to facing Robredo, Isner and Hanescu.

"He's excited about the guarantee of getting three singles matches and also three in mixed doubles with Sam," Drysdale said. "I think they can do really well. Lleyton and Sam would probably be favourites in all of their singles matches and they're both pretty good at doubles."

Stosur is a multiple grand slam doubles champion, having risen to No. 1 in the team format. Hewitt won a US Open doubles title with Belarussian Max Mirnyi and is a vastly underrated doubles contender.

Hewitt and Stosur hope Australia can land the cup for the first time since Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic combined in 1999. Hewitt and Stosur will follow the Hopman Cup by contesting the Sydney International from January 10-16.

December 17

AUSTRALIAN star Lleyton Hewitt has been rated the third-best player of the decade by the ATP World Tour, the governing body for men's tennis.

The South Australian, now ranked 22nd in the world, sits behind only Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after an industry assessment of all the champions between 2000 and 2009.

Hewitt, who spent 80 weeks at No. 1 until June 2003, is ranked ahead of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Andy Roddick.
The ATP World Tour said Hewitt's achievement to win his home-town title in Adelaide at the age of 16 years, 10 months in January 1998 made him "the man to beat as the new millennium rolled in".
"With his famous cry of "Come On!" punctuating his every success and donning a back-to-front baseball cap, Hewitt won his first grand slam title at the 2001 US Open, signalling a changing of the guard as he dismissed Pete Sampras in the final," the ATP said.

"That same year, he became the youngest player (20 years, eight months) and the first Australian to be crowned ATP World Tour Champion in the history of the South African Airways ATP Rankings.
"The following year he held aloft the Wimbledon trophy after defeating David Nalbandian and once again went on to finish at ATP World Tour Champion.

"Federer is the only other player to finish ATP World Tour Champion multiple times this decade.
"The right-hander, also a runner-up at the 2004 US Open and 05 Australian Open, has been a Davis Cup stalwart and is Australias most successful singles player. He was part of Australia's 2003 Davis Cup title-winning team."

The accolade is certain to delight Hewitt, whose ranking sank to 108th in February before winning thew US Claycourt Championships in Dallas - the 27th singles title of his career.
Former prodigy Hewitt, now 28, was rated in 2005 by Tennis Magazine in 34th place on its list of the 40 greatest tennis players since 1965.

The ATP described Federer as "possibly the greatest player ever to grace the game, (who) has dominated men's tennis since the turn of the millennium, winning a record-breaking 15 grand slam titles.
"In July 2003, at the age of 21, the Swiss delivered on his early promise by capturing his first major crown at Wimbledon. What followed in the next six years has been truly remarkable.

"The Basel native went on to win a further five Wimbledon titles, including successive victories between 2003-07.
"Since 2004, his dominance at The All England Club has only been interrupted by arch rival Rafael Nadal in an epic final in 2008 that was hailed as one of the greatest matches ever.

"Federer also exerted his dominance at the US Open, where he won the title five times in a row between 2004-08, with his run finally ending against Juan Martin del Potro in a five-set thriller in the 2009 final.
"He won three Australian Opens in 2004, 06 and 07 and completed the (grand slam) set at Roland Garros this year, defeating Robin Soderling to become the sixth man in history to win the career grand slam."
Nadal's four French Open titles, Australian Open, Wimbledon and Olympic Games victories made the Spanish bull an obvious second choice behind Federer - although Nadal has clearly dominated the pair's rivalry.

Americans Andre Agassi, who retired in 2006, and Andy Roddick, a former world No. 1 and triple Wimbledon finalist, round out the top five.
Honourable mentions were given to Pete Sampras, who won only two of his 14 majors this decade, Gustavo Kuerten, Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian, Marat Safin and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Americans Bob and Mike Bryan were rated the doubles team of the decade. The duo is now only five titles shy of equalling Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde's world record of 61 titles.

December 16

Hewitt tries his hand at 'boutique' sports management business

LINDA PEARCE

December 16, 2009

THERE is a surprising new player on the Australian sports management scene. His name: Lleyton Hewitt.

A Hewitt company, Signature Sports Management, last week signed rising Victorian star Olivia Rogowska, the nation's top-ranked 18-and-under player, who won a senior round at the French Open this year and went within two games of stunning top seed Dinara Safina on centre court at the US Open. While the business will be run by David Drysdale, a former Tennis Australia employee who manages Lleyton Hewitt Marketing, Hewitt will be involved. He telephoned Rogowska on Monday after her opening round-robin loss at the Australian Open wildcard play-off, and is expected to practise with her at his Sydney home next week.

''It's a great connection to have,'' Rogowska said yesterday. ''I'm really excited to be working under his name. He gave me a call after my match and it's so nice of him to be so involved and supportive.''

Drysdale said there was no aim to compete with major global agencies such as IMG or Octagon, while Tennis Australia's own management arm, run by former player and coach Paul Kilderry, has the likes of Sam Stosur, Casey Dellacqua and outstanding junior prospects Jason Kubler and Luke Saville on its books.

''We're a bit more of a boutique-type scenario, with our main aim being to try and help the players, and Olivia's our first signing,'' Drysdale said. ''Lleyton knows everything that's going on with junior players in Australia; he watches everyone, he looks at their results - and he was really impressed with Olivia at the US Open this year and has continued to follow her progress. He likes the way she strikes the ball. He likes her attitude. ''He's taking a personal interest in where she is and what she's doing, and I think that's going to be a real benefit to both of them, to be honest. ''I think it's a great scenario, and we look forward to hopefully being able to expand down the track, but we're not in it to make a whole lot of money out of it.''What we're wanting to do is pick kids that fit into the mould that we quite like and then try to work with them and help them along. We're not going to be out there trying to sign up every kid that's walking around; we want to pick the right kids and make sure that they're on the same wavelength as we are. For Olivia and her parents, we're more there for a guidance perspective, and Lleyton becomes like a mentor.''

So how much is altruistic, and how much is commercially motivated? ''Without a doubt there's a commercial element to it as well, which is only natural, but it's not the type of commercial element that other companies would entertain,'' Drysdale said.

''We're more along the lines of trying to look after the athlete. ''We're starting to look at what Lleyton's position is in Australian tennis, and he's ready to take another step. We just basically discussed the fact that he does have such an interest in where Australian tennis is and what's coming through, but if he can have a hands-on scenario with some players, then that's a real benefit.''

And Bernard Tomic? Can we expect Hewitt's most recent sparring partner to join the stable? ''I think he's got a pretty good arrangement with IMG,'' Drysdale said. ''But if Bernard ever wants to come and talk, we're happy to talk.''

Rogowska, meanwhile, must regroup after successive losses to Dellacqua and, yesterday, Ashling Sumner. The St Kilda teenager admitted she had been feeling the pressure of her top seeding, and faces Isabella Holland in today's extreme heat to try to salvage something from the week. ''Trying to live up to expectations and stuff, it's hard, but next time … I'll just go out there and play - not much I can do now,'' she said after losing 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 to the unseeded Sumner.

In contrast, Dellacqua and Alicia Molik have logged their second wins, although top men's seed Brydan Klein suffered his second loss, and Tomic is 1-1 after being beaten in three sets by Matthew Ebden. Tomic is still favoured to reach Friday's quarter-finals.

October 14

Despite bowing out of the second round of the Shanghai Masters event on Wednesday, Lleyton Hewitt is confident his form is returning as he takes aim at the Australian Open.

Hewitt lost six straight games in the deciding set in a 4-6 6-4 6-2 loss to French No.11 seed Gael Monfils in Shanghai.

But the Australian has improved his ranking from a low of No.108 in February to No.23, ensuring he will be seeded for his home Open in Melbourne in January.

Hewitt has yet to decide whether to contest the final Masters event of the year in Paris next month or return to Australia to prepare for the new season.

But the former world No.1 still believes he can be a threat in the opening grand slam event of 2010, his sole focus right now.

"I'm only really focusing until the Aussie Open and then take it from there," he said.

"But I'm obviously going to be seeded at the Aussie Open, which is going to make life a lot easier for me hopefully.

"I feel like I can do some damage in that tournament if the draw opens up."

Hewitt certainly had his chances against the athletic Monfils, taking the first set and leading 2-0 in the third.

But Monfils then lifted his game to roar home and take the match in just over two hours.

"I just tried to focus in the last set to be more aggressive, play with more pace on my shots and try to stretch it more than the start," said Monfils, currently coached by Hewitt's former mentor Roger Rasheed.

The in-form Frenchman, who won his second career title in France last month, will next face Ivan Ljubicic, who knocked out Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in their second-round clash.

Hewitt is still struggling for consistency but has shown some better signs this year after injury ruined his 2008 campaign.

He reached the semi-finals in Beijing last week and also defeated US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro en route to a five-set quarter-final loss to eventual finalist Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.

"At Wimbledon this year I played exceptional tennis," Hewitt said.

"At the US Open I played pretty good tennis for the three matches I was there.

"If I keep putting myself in that position, hopefully I can get through against those big guys."

In other results in Shanghai, Rainer Schuettler took the opening set against Tommy Haas before the German retired with a right shoulder injury.

Tomas Berdych accounted for Marat Safin, while Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Tommy Robredo also advanced.

September 29

Lleyton Hewitt's autumn bid to lift his 26th ranking got off to a poor start as the former number one lost in the opening round of the Malaysian Open on Tuesday 7-6 (9-7), 6-3 to Swede Joachim Johansson.

The match-up was almost a family affair as Johansson dated eighth seed Hewitt's younger sister Jocelyn for five years.

The winner, who produced the same ace total as Hewitt -- 11 on the night -- was testing the waters after last playing in the ATP nearly a year ago at home in Stockholm as he has been beset by shoulder problems.

Johansson, ranked 446th, saved all nine break points he faced in the 100-minute encounter at the Putra stadium.

The former Top 10 is competing in Malaysia on a wild card. His activity this season has been limited to four Challenger-level events, the last one in May.

Hewitt is playing the fag end of the ATP season with nothing to lose after sitting out a year ago as he recovered from hip surgery. The 28-year-old Australian admits his focus is on obtaining a seeding at the home Open in January.

Sept 11

Hewitt reveals reasons for splitting with coach

Lleyton Hewitt admits it was a wrench to part ways with Tony Roche, but believes the regular presence and energy new coach Nathan Healey offers is ultimately best for his tennis.

While the internationally-acclaimed Roche - whose former pupils include fellow grand slam greats Roger Federer, Pat Rafter and Ivan Lendl - will undoubtedly continue to advise Hewitt if sounded out, Australia’s 2001 US Open champion deemed it necessary to end their formal arrangement.

With Hewitt’s blessing, Roche, 64, took up a coaching position at a renowned tennis academy in France in July.

In any case, Roche’s reluctance to travel fulltime always meant his official two-year union with Hewitt was restricted to mostly training blocks in Sydney and long-distance consultation.

Hewitt first encountered Roche as a 15-year-old “orange boy” for the Australian Davis Cup team in 1997 - when Roche was the coach, John Newcombe captain and Rafter the spearhead.

The 1966 French Open champion has continued to be one of the most influential figures in Hewitt’s stellar career, despite also helping long-time foe Federer to become the most successful player in history.

Speaking openly for the first time since splitting, Hewitt said he’d always be indebted to Roche but that a fulltime coach was the way to go.

“Week in, week out, I just feel like it’s hard just coming to the slams and working with someone different all the time,” Hewitt told AAP.

“Rochey and I get along super. We know each other so well. I’ve got so much respect for Rochey. It’s hard.

“I haven’t been back to Australia all year either. We haven’t been able to do the weeks that we sort of have been able to do in the past, I guess.”

Hewitt has known 29-year-old Healey since their junior days when they sometimes played doubles together.

Healey fits well in with the dual grand slam winner’s travelling group of wife Bec, children Cruz, almost one, and three-year-old Mia, plus physio-trainer Ivan Gutierrez and sometimes manager David Drysdale.

“Nathan is a positive guy,” Hewitt said.

“He’s spent a lot of time around Rochey as well, the Davis Cup ties. He’s positive. We get along extremely well, which is a huge bonus.”

Hewitt, who was due to take on five-time defending champion Federer on Sunday morning (1am AEST), is guaranteed to break back into the world’s top 30 - at least - following his progression to third round for the ninth time in 10 visits to Flushing Meadows.

The 28-year-old was ranked as low as 108 in February after being sidelined for four months following hip surgery, but has no rankings points to defend until January and is well on track to reach his season goal of returning to the top 20 before the 2009 Australian Open.

Hewitt was the last Australian standing for the 29th time in his last 33 grand slam appearances dating back to 2001.

Sept 6

JOHN McENROE has backed Lleyton Hewitt to regain his place in the world's top 10 but the resurgent Australian is aiming even higher after threatening to break Roger Federer's five-year stranglehold on the US Open at Flushing Meadows.

Hewitt said his gallant 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 third-round loss to the all-conquering world No.1 had fuelled his belief that he remains capable of adding a third grand slam title to his 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon triumphs.

In a magnificent match played before a capacity crowd of 23,763 fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday, an inspired Hewitt was ultimately left to rue an inability to convert any more than three of his 14 break-point chances.

But the backhand down the line was back, the trademark topspin lob - which Federer later declared the best tennis had ever seen - was operating brilliantly and the shaken Swiss was facing his earliest grand slam exit since losing to ex-No.1 Gustavo Kuerten in the third round of the 2004 French Open.

''When you see Lleyton play like this, you know he can get back to the top 10 in the world,'' McEnroe said on US television.

McEnroe marvelled at Hewitt's ability to drag Federer out of his comfort zone despite the 28-year-old former No.1 undergoing serious surgery last August to repair a torn labrum, and also have part of his hip bone shaven off.

''That's about as good as it gets,'' McEnroe said. ''I didn't think it was possible. This is a different guy that was playing earlier in the year.

''When you consider what happened to Gustavo Kuerten and [former No.2] Magnus Norman after they had similar hip problems, this is amazing.

''This is the best I've seen him move in a long, long time and it's affecting Roger's shot selection. He's pressing.

''He reminds me of [Jimmy] Connors the way he knows when to half-volley or redirect a ball. He's so good at that. He also had Andy Roddick in a fifth set and on the ropes at Wimbledon. Quite incredible.''

His vintage form - which has also included recent victories over the fifth-ranked Juan Martin Del Potro and French Open finalist Robin Soderling - has come as no surprise to Hewitt.

''I'm more fit,'' he said. ''When the body is feeling closer to 100 per cent, then it's easy to go out there and compete. I did all the hard work after I had surgery at the end of last year to get back and put myself in a position like this. It's part of making those sacrifices to come back and do it all again.

'You're going to lose your ranking and you're going to have to come up and play the higher seeds earlier in the tournaments. That's all part of it. But I feel like I'm on the right track to getting back to where I want to be.''

Hewitt, ranked 32 in the world, believes he is probably even a superior player to when he topped the rankings for 80 weeks in 2001-02.

''The game is always improving and changing,'' he said. ''Roger took it to a new level, and then Rafa [Nadal] came and, believe it or not, took it to a new level again. That's just part of it. That's what motivates the great players to try and keep improving and stay at the top of their game.''

Federer said he was relieved to get through the potential danger match unscathed.

''This match was close. It could have gone either way,'' the Swiss said. ''The way I came through I was very happy because I knew that being down a set against Lleyton is always going to be a difficult situation for me to be in.

''Make one more mistake and I'm in the fifth set maybe, or I go down completely.

''I knew the danger … but I just had to believe that I could still turn this around.''

Federer's 38th straight victory in New York advanced his phenomenal win-loss tally at Wimbledon and the US Open over the past six years to an astonishing 79-1.

Hewitt will climb to within the cusp of the top 25 - having plummeted to as low as 108th in February - and, with no rankings points to defend until January, will continue to rise.

''It's disappointing [here] because my draw could have been slightly more favourable - I could have gone deeper in the tournament,'' Hewitt said.

''It would be nice to get into the top 10 and have to come up against these guys later in the second week. Hopefully that's going to pan out for next year.''

AAP

Sept 2

Lleyton Hewitt set up a third-round contest with world number one Roger Federer after a straight sets victory at the US Open this morning (AEST).

Hewitt was in fine fettle as he knocked over old rival Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 10 minutes.

The 31st seed hit 45 winners and only 32 unforced errors, with his versatility around the court and at the net too much for his Argentine opponent.

Federer, seeking his sixth consecutive US Open title and 16th career grand slam crown, set up the clash with Hewitt by defeating Germany's Simon Greul 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 soon after.

Federer beat the Aussie in straight sets in the 2004 US Open final.

Federer has beaten the Aussie 13 times in a row and stretching that streak on Saturday would ensure Federer remains atop the rankings no matter what happens in the Flushing Meadows fortnight.

"We've had some incredible matches," Federer said. "I'm sure it's going to be a good one."

August 31

LLEYTON Hewitt has one eye on Roger Federer and the other on long-time bitter rival Juan Ignacio Chela after cruising into the second round of the US Open here.

While fellow Australian Samantha Stosur struggled to see off the reportedly pregnant Ai Sugiyama in three sets, and Jelena Dokic bombed out, Hewitt could scarcely have been more impressive in dispatching Brazilian Thiago Alves for the loss of just seven games.

Playing like he had to catch an early show on Broadway, Hewitt motored through the opening two sets before closing out a 6-0, 6-3, 6-4 victory to preserve his proud record of never having lost a first-round match in 10 visits to Flushing Meadows.

''I felt pretty comfortable,'' he said.

No kidding. The 2001 champion may not be feeling so comfortable if he wins his next match tomorrow against Chela to book a Saturday night showdown with Federer, the top seed and five-time defending champion.

''Obviously if I get to the third round there's always going to be a very good chance that he's going to be there,'' Hewitt said.

''It's about getting through these matches and hopefully having a crack at him. So I've got to beat Chela in the next round. That's my main focus.''

Hewitt and Chela have staged some fierce battles, none more explosive than their third-round clash at the 2005 Australian Open, after which the Argentine was fined for spitting towards the Australian.

August 30

Hewitt in a New York state of mind

LLEYTON Hewitt has always been a New York kind of guy - brash, feisty, ambitious and pugnacious.

It takes more than talent to survive the distractions and pressures that make the US Open at Flushing Meadows unique among the four grand slams. It takes an iron will.

Not surprisingly, this is where it all began for Hewitt in 2001 when he destroyed Pete Sampras in the final like no one ever destroyed Pistol Pete.

The 20-year-old was the King of Queens, his performance prompting John Newcombe to predict the little Aussie battler would win 10 or 12 grand slam events.

A few months later, he added the Wimbledon crown to his collection, giving him a second major. But then came Roger Federer, who has gone on to win 15 majors and stake a claim as the greatest player ever.

Guess who stands in Hewitt's path again this year; the world No1 forming a seemingly impassable barrier for the Australian in the third round at this year's Open.

Rivals since their junior days, Federer has won their past 13 battles including twice in New York, in the infamous 2004 final mismatch and then in a classic semi-final the following year.

Hewitt has lost 16 times to the eventual champion or runner-up in grand slams over the past six seasons, mostly to either Federer or Rafael Nadal.

He may not have won here in a while, but Hewitt has a record to envy in New York.

In the modern era, only Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl can match the Australian's efforts in reaching the quarter-finals or better at Flushing Meadows for seven years in a row.

"The US Open is somewhere I've played extremely well in the past,'' Hewitt said after falling to Federer last week in the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals."I'd like to think if things fall my way I've got an outside chance. Hopefully I can get deep in the second week.''

But Federer is chasing history again here, aiming to become the first man since Australia's Rod Laver in 1969 to win three consecutive major championships in a single season - and the first since Bill Tilden in 1920-25 to win six straight titles at the American grand slam event.

To give Hewitt some heart, when last year's US Open began plenty of people were wondering what was wrong with Federer.

But starting with his victory in New York, he has reclaimed the No1 ranking and returns as hot favourite.

And he's now a father of twin daughters, explaining how his focus has changed.

"You change, all of a sudden,'' Federer said, snapping his fingers, "from needing nine hours of sleep to saying 'five is plenty'.''

August 27

Lleyton Hewitt faces a third-round clash with five-time defending champion Roger Federer after being handed a horror draw for the US Open starting on Monday (local time).

Hewitt faces Brazilian Thiago Alves first up before a possible second-round encounter with long-time Argentine rival Juan Ignacio Chela.

Australian wildcard Chris Guccione fared much better at Friday's draw in New York, being pitted against Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas.

Should he win that, Guccione will likely take on American 25th seed Mardy Fish.

Samantha Stosur, the women's 15th seed, plays Japanese veteran Ai Sugiyama in the first round and should reach the last 16 provided she maintains her strong form.

Stosur is projected to meet either American Vania King or Belarussian Anastasiya Yakimova in the second round and probably Slovakian 22nd seed Daniela Hantuchova.

Reigning champion and second seed Serena Williams looms large in the fourth round for Stosur.

Teenage wildcard Olivia Rogowska has received a terrible draw, striking top seed and world number one Dinara Safina in the opening round.

Jelena Dokic, who has been battling mononucleosis, will play Belgian Kirsten Flipkens in her first match in more than a month.

August 23

CINCINNATI: Lleyton Hewitt bowed out of the Cincinnati Masters quarter-finals on Friday, but the Aussie veteran said his performance in the tournament had whetted his appetite for the US Open.

"The US Open is somewhere I've played extremely well in the past," said Hewitt, who won the title at Flushing Meadows in 2001 and was runner-up in 2004. "I'd like to think if things fall my way I've got an outside chance there. Hopefully I can get deep in the second week."

World number one Roger Federer broke Hewitt once in each set en route to a 6-3, 6-4 victory on Friday.

But Hewitt, a former world number one who had hip surgery last August, was encouraged by his week in the American Midwest.

"I didn't play this time last year, so everything is a bonus right at the moment," said Hewitt, currently ranked 42nd in the world.

So he seemed less concerned that Federer notched his 13th straight victory in their long rivalry, than he was pleased with his overall form.

"He's always a tough opponent," Federer said. "I was more focused today more on trying to keep my rhythm going that I built up this week instead of actually worrying about Roger's game too much, especially a week out before a Slam."

That week included victories over Sweden's Robin Soderling, the man who beat Rafael Nadal at the French Open en route to the final, and big-serving American Sam Querrey.

Hewitt saved two match points in his first-round win over Soderling, and downed Querrey in three sets to reach the last eight.

"Three solid wins," said Hewitt, who also notched a straight-setter over Benjamin Becker. "Two of the players have been in very good form, Soderling and Querrey.

"To come through those tight matches as well when it counts and just get those matches under my belt, that's important going into a major."

Hewitt's 2009 season so far has included his 27th career title, his first in more than two years, at the US Clay Court Championship in April.

He pushed Andy Roddick to the bitter end before coming out on the losing end of a five-set Wimbledon quarter-final.

"Up until now it's been more trying to get into that routine of playing a lot of matches," he said. "I've been able to do that this year and been able to play well and push the top guys on all surfaces."

August 21

Roger Federer faced childhood friend Lleyton Hewitt at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters and once again emerged a winner.

Federer, the World’s No. 1 player and W&S’s top seed, defeated former No. 1 Hewitt 6-3, 6-4 in 70 minutes this afternoon at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

Federer advances to the semifinals to play defending W&S champion Andy Murray.

Federer said before the Hewitt match that he looked forward to facing the Australian because they share such a long tennis history. Federer was only 15 when the pair first played.

Hewitt, who last year had hip surgery and in recent weeks has struggled with a minor muscle tear in his leg, hasn’t beaten Federer since 2003.

Federer didn’t take long to secure his 13th straight victory over the Aussie, relying on a balanced attack and minimal miscues to dominate. He had 29 winners and only 17 unforced errors, while Hewitt had 12 winners and 22 unforced errors.

Federer also fired 11 aces with serves that reached 127 miles per hour.

“I don’t think Lleyton played his best,” said Federer, who added that they both played through “tough conditions” that included gusty wins.

Fans offered Federer a standing ovation after his victory and a few even waved Swiss flags.

The Federer-Murray semifinal will feature the ATP World Tour’s top two players. Murray owns a 6-2 edge over Federer and has won the players’ last four meetings.

Federer last defeated Murray in the finals of the 2008 U.S. Open.

“I hope we can make a great match tomorrow,” Federer said.

August 20

Australian Lleyton Hewitt defeated American Sam Querrey 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 Thursday afternoon to set up a reunion of sorts today in a Western & Southern Financial Group Masters quarterfinal.

Former No. 1 Hewitt faces current No. 1 Roger Federer in the players’ first meeting since 2008. Their match follows the noon meeting between Andy Murray and Julien Benneteau at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason.

Hewitt and Federer have a long history that began on the ATP World Tour in 1999, with Federer leading the series 14-7. The Australian won seven of their first nine meetings and capped the run with a definitive five-set Davis Cup victory.

That match was formative in Federer’s career. Five tournaments later he claimed his first title in the United States – the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston – and in 2004 rocketed to No. 1 with a Tour-best 11 titles in 11 finals, including three Grand Slams.

Since 2004 Federer has defeated Hewitt 12 straight times, including a three-set win in a 2007 W&S semifinal.

So what will Hewitt do today to snap the streak?

“Yeah, I don’t know. Something different, obviously. He’s had the wood on me the last, yeah, quite a few times now since then,” Hewitt said.

“When I last played him back two years ago here, it could have gone either way. I led a break in the third set there and ended up losing a tiebreak in the third. So hopefully I can get my teeth into the match and play on my terms.”

Hewitt did just that against Querrey, who had more on the line than just the win. A victory would have allowed him to become the Tour’s second-ranked American behind Andy Roddick when the new rankings are released.

Now he is expected to be the third-ranked American after Roddick and James Blake.

Querrey, who upset Roddick to earn the shot at Hewitt, fell behind early Thursday. Hewitt broke Querrey in three of the first five games and quickly downed the American in the first set.

A balanced attack, coupled with Querrey’s eight unforced errors – including a ball in the net to end the first set – were among the opportunities the Australian seized.

But Querrey rallied in the second set after Hewitt slapped two more balls into the net. Querrey broke Hewitt for a 2-1 lead and pumped his fist after his foe’s return went long.

“He obviously picked up his first serve in the second set and put me under a lot more pressure,” Hewitt said.

Querrey went up 4-2 with an ace and benefited from Hewitt’s three double faults and six unforced errors. The Californian fired three aces and 11 winners and converted two of three break points.

Querrey said he “tightened everything up a bit” and made Hewitt play one more ball each time.

The players were locked in two ties in the third set before Hewitt built a two-game lead. Querrey subsequently self-destructed with three errors, hitting the ball into the net on match point.

His 13 aces and 25 winners weren’t enough to defeat Hewitt, who has played well here following a minor injury. He was hampered by a leg muscle tear at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C., and the ailment bothered him in a first-round loss at the Rogers Cup in Montreal Aug. 10.

Hewitt said he has felt better here. And, after tossing a few post-victory balls into the stands Thursday, he said looked forward to seeing Federer.

Ditto for Federer, who was asked about his next foe before the Hewitt-Querrey match was played.

“If I could choose, I would rather play Lleyton just because of our history, our rivalry. I played him for the first time when I was 15 years old,” Federer said.

“Yeah, we’ve had some wonderful battles in the biggest arenas around the world.”

August 19

Lleyton Hewitt has joined big-serving countryman Chris Guccione in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters with a straight-sets win over German Benjamin Becker.

Hewitt outclassed Becker 6-3 6-3 and will play Sam Querrey for a place in the last 16 of the $US3 million ($A3.62 million) hardcourt event.

Guccione earlier on Wednesday caused the shock of the tournament, upsetting Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (14-12) 6-2 - less than a week after the Frenchman beat world No.1 Roger Federer in the Montreal Masters quarter-finals.

Guccione landed 20 aces and saved five set points in the thrilling first-set tiebreaker to advance to a third-round clash with Czech Tomas Berdych. World No.1 Roger Federer and second-ranked Andy Murray also advanced to the third round with straight-set triumphs.

August 18

MASON – Two-time tournament runner-up Lleyton Hewitt ousted No. 12 Robin Soderling in one of three upsets that took out a trio of the Top 12 players in the world.

Tomas Berdych advanced when No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez retired with a knee injury after Berdych claimed the first set 6-4, while Guillermo Garcia-Lopez took out No. 11 Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4) 7-6(4).

The former World No. 1 Hewitt downed Soderling 3-6 7-6(8) 6-4, saving a pair of match points in the second set tie-break.

“Sort of had to weather the storm out there today and wait for my opportunities,” Hewitt said. “Second set tiebreak could have gone either way, obviously. You know, I played a good game the first game of the third set to break serve, and served well for the rest of that set.”

Hewitt has reached the semifinals in Cincinnati in five of his last six appearances, including runner-up finishes in 2002 and 2004.

August 15

Lleyton plays Soderling in the 1st rd Cincinnati Masters Series. The tournament commences August 17.

August 12

A combination of injury and early exits are compromising Lleyton's Hewitt's US Open campaign. Hewitt admitted he was distracted by a tweaked groin muscle as he lost a battle of former world No.1s with Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 6-4 in the first round of the Montreal Masters on Wednesday.

The Australian had initially suffered the injury when losing a tight third round battle with world No.6 Juan Martin Del Potro as he began his US hardcourt campaign in Washington last week. Hewitt will now head to next week's Cincinnati Masters for his last scheduled event before the US Open.

"In the back of my mind, I didn't want to do any more damage to my leg before going into another Masters Series next week but more the US Open in a couple of weeks' time," said Hewitt, whose side-to-side movement was hampered against Ferrero.

Hewitt's manager David Drysdale said the 2001 US Open champion was confident he could overcome the injury before playing in Cincinnati and give a strong account at the Open.

"It [the injury] wasn't really a reoccurrence, I think what it was is he didn't give it enough time to be completely right before he played against Juan Carlos and in retrospect maybe he shouldn't have played the match in Montreal," said Drysdale.

"But he feels like the time he's going to have between Montreal and Cincinnati he should be OK. "He'll monitor it over the next couple of days and do some strengthening exercises with it.

"He hopes to be back practising by the weekend ready to play on the Monday or Tuesday."

Hewitt's world ranking plunged to 108 earlier this year as he made a comeback from career-saving hip surgery. But the 28-year-old two-time grand slam winner has powered his way back into the top 40 with his quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon, where he lost an epic five-set encounter to Andy Roddick, showing the world he can still match it with the best on his day.

"I think that gave him immense confidence," Drysdale said. "So he knows he's not far away.

"He's very focused for the US Open. "He would have liked to have gotten more matches under his belt in Montreal but he's happy with the way he's hitting the ball.

"So if we can get a good draw at Cincinnati and get through that OK then he feels confident he can do well at the US Open. "We've just got to ensure the body holds up and he gets a couple of breaks his way in regards to the draw and we feel like over time, by the end of the year, hopefully he'll be back in the top 20.

"He definitely wants to be top 20-24 by the end of the year so he can look for a reasonable seeding for the Australian Open and then have a decent crack next year."

August 11

"Six years ago it could have been the final, but after injuries have taken their toll it was as a wild card and a qualifier that former World No. 1s Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero stepped out to contest their first-round match, both looking to build on the resurgence in form they have enjoyed in recent months. It was Ferrero who seized the opportunity, producing fine tennis to derail a below-par Hewitt 6-1, 6-4.

Potent, attacking play from Ferrero saw him race out to a 6-1 opening set, with two breaks of serve after 25 minutes. Trademark fighting qualities from Hewitt saw the Australian recover from an early break deficit in the second set to level at 3-3, but Ferrero instantly regained his advantage and fought through a nervy final game to seal victory after 76 minutes. It was his fourth win in the pair's 10 meetings.

"You've just got to get those matches under your belt, especially since the second half of last year I didn't play any matches," lamented Hewitt, who admitted he had been struggling with a slight tear suffered in his third-round defeat to Juan Martin del Potro in Washingtoon last week. "It's not easy to just step in and play your best tennis straightaway against these guys. All of these tournaments are extremely tough fields. You're going to have your work cut out in every match."

Both Ferrero and Hewitt have fought back from falling outside the Top 100 of the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings to capture ATP World Tour titles at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Casablanca (d. Serra) and the US Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston (d. Odesnik), respectively, and both featured in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. "

August 4

Donald Young had the good fortune of being granted a wild-card entry into Washington's Legg Mason Tennis Classic this year, sparing him the hurdle of having to slog through qualifying for a spot in the 48-player draw.

At 28 and one year removed from hip surgery, Hewitt is not the player he was in his prime, when he won the 2001 U.S. Open and hoisted Wimbledon's trophy the next year. But he has lost none of his fighting spirit and still has a knack, which Young has yet to master, for playing the big points well.

As a result, Hewitt advanced to the tournament's second round with a 7-5, 6-2 victory Monday night.

And for Young, who has been heralded as the future of American tennis since he turned pro at 14, the journey continues.

At 15, Young became the youngest junior boy -- and the first African American male -- to win a junior Grand Slam event (the 2005 Australian Open) and claim the No. 1 junior ranking. He had a lucrative deal with Nike. Coached by his parents, both teaching pros, he also had no shortage of hitting partners among the sport's elite.

But in 5 1/2 years as a pro, Young has won just 10 matches on the ATP tour, posting a 10-34 record in the top ranks of the sport while spending most of his time mired one rung down, in the Challenger ranks.

He is 20 now. And his once-promising career has proved a cautionary tale.

Young wasn't fully grown when he turned pro, which put him at a sharp disadvantage to more muscular, conditioned men. It took him two years to break into the top 500 and four years to pierce the top 100. And now he's lurking well outside the top 100.

On Monday, playing in just his second ATP-level match this year, he flashed both the potential that has warranted so much attention these last years and the impetuousness.

Neither Hewitt nor Young distinguished himself on the stat sheet. Hewitt landed just 38 percent of his first serves; Young, 35 percent. More points were settled by errors than outright winners.

But the near capacity crowd at William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center fought hard for an upset -- or at least a third set.

"Believe in yourself!" one fan shouted as Young prepared to serve at 2-4 in the second set.

"He's very talented, but he probably hasn't fulfilled his potential yet," Hewitt said. "It's a big step up always from juniors to seniors. He's lightning quick and makes [it to] a lot of balls. But probably he plays the big points not so well."

August 3

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt launched his American hardcourt season by defeating Donald Young 7-5 6-2 in the first round of the $1.4 million Washington Classic on Monday.

Hewitt, playing for the first time since reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals, broke Young's serve five times in a row and six times overall to overwhelm the 20-year-old American.

Despite the cozy straight-sets victory, Hewitt had trouble shaking off the rust. He landed just 39 percent of his first serves and was broken three times by the 20-year-old Young, formerly the world's top-ranked junior.

"I didn't serve my best tonight," said the 42nd ranked Hewitt. "It's always hard playing your first match after a few weeks off. The ball was bouncing pretty high out there.

"It's a lot different than playing on the grass over the last month in England. It was nice to get through in straight sets."

Young, ranked 162nd, was successful on just 36 percent of his first serves.

"He's very talented and he just hasn't fulfilled his potential just yet," Hewitt said after his first meeting with the lefthander. "It's a big step up from juniors to seniors."

"He's lightning quick, gets to a lot of balls, and is starting to get a bigger game out there. He's just not playing the big points very well just yet."

The 28-year-old Hewitt, tournament champion in 2004 but unseeded this year, will play 15th seed Dudi Sela of Israel in the second round.

In other matches, Russian Mikhail Youzhny needed one hour and 40 minutes to oust American Robert Kendrick 7-5 3-6 6-1, while Philipp Petzschner of Germany beat Teimuraz Gabashvili of Russia 4-6 6-3 6-4.

Top seed and three-times former champion Andy Roddick will play his opening match on Wednesday against either Benjamin Becker of Germany or American Robby Ginepri.

July 11

Hewitt eyeing pre-Open rankings assault

By Darren Walton

Lleyton Hewitt is looking forward to a "free hit" at the world rankings ahead of what he hopes will be another long grand slam run at next month's US Open.

Hewitt was one of the tour's biggest climbers this week, rising 12 spots to No.44 following his five-set quarter-final loss to Andy Roddick at Wimbledon.

Australia's former world No.1 has now more than halved his ranking over the past three months, having also enjoyed a strong claycourt campaign, to be confident of gaining a valuable seeding at Flushing Meadows.

As his 2008 season was cut short by his hip injury, Hewitt has no ranking points to defend leading up to the Open and any points he accrues will guarantee further progress.

"Look, we're really happy with what he achieved over there (in Europe) and the fact that everything now on is a free hit is good," Hewitt's manager David Drysdale said on Wednesday.

Hewitt plans to have three weeks off to freshen up and rest a minor leg muscle strain before resuming in Washington - a tournament he won in 2004 before reaching the final in New York - and rounding out his Open preparations at the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters events.

"If he wants to start earlier, we can look at it," Drysdale said.

"But, at this stage, we're looking at Washington and then the two Masters events going into the US Open.

"He's not defending anything so if he can do alright at Montreal and Cincinnati, he could be seeded in the top 32 at the US Open.

"It just helps a little bit. (It means) he doesn't draw one of the top seeds in the first round.

"Then again, you can have bonuses if you get someone (early) who is seeded 10 or 11 or something and you knock them over."

Hewitt, who snared the first of his two grand slam crowns at Flushing Meadows in 2001 during a golden run of seven straight quarter-final appearances, will also have no points to defend after the Open.

"The aim is to try and get him in the top 20 by the end of the year," Drysdale said.

Such a scenario would also protect Hewitt from any early tournament showdowns with top seeds at next year's Australian Open.

Drysdale said Hewitt's injury was of no concern.

"He just had a little bit of a strain but, with a few weeks off now, that should heal over time so we don't see any problems with that at all," he said.

"I wouldn't put too much emphasis on it. He'll be fine."

July 2

Lleyton Hewitt emerges from defeat feeling like a major winner

Peter Wilson, Wimbledon | July 03, 2009

Article from: The Australian

FOR somebody who hates losing more than almost any other tennis player in the game, Lleyton Hewitt came away from his Wimbledon quarter-final defeat to Andy Roddick yesterday with a positive spark in his eye.

The former world No1 said his five-set fight against Roddick and four winning matches over the previous week had convinced him that after recovering from hip surgery, he could once again mix it with the top players as he embarked on what he called "the last phase of my career".

"You're never 100 per cent sure after surgery how well you're going to feel, how quickly it's going to be able to come back, and whether you're going to be able to compete with the best guys in the world," he said.

"I feel now that I'm able to dothat."

Hewitt's performances this week were not good enough to suggest he would have beaten Roddick's semi-final opponent, British hope Andy Murray, let alone the favourite, Roger Federer, who takes on unfancied German Tommy Haas after reaching a remarkable 21st straight Grand Slam semi-final.

Hewitt said beating world No5 Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets and then coming back from two sets down to beat No23 Radek Stepanek and finally making Roddick sweat for almost four hours to win 6-3 6-7 (10-12) 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-4 had given him "just an extra added belief now that I can go out there and you know you can do it".

The new self-belief came from "just knowing what I'm capable of playing like, and the standard that I'm able to play over five sets against the best guys in the world, back-to-back matches in Grand Slams".

"Even though I lost this one today, I came through the tight match against Stepanek and the clutch match against Del Potro," he said. "Even though I played a lot of those (matches) years ago, you have still got to get back in that routine.

"I guess now, for me, it's more looking at the last phase of my career and trying to get as much out of it as possible - doing all the hard work to get as much out of it as I can in the next few years.

"After the surgery I knew it wasn't going to be easy to get back, it was going to take time (but) now the body's feeling good. It's time to keep pressing on."

For much of his career, Hewitt was more likely to respond to a loss with pouting and petulance than with phrases such as "even though I lost this one". His maturity, as a 28-year-old husband and father, may be behind yesterday's more positive attitude.

He was certainly optimistic when looking to the future, with his immediate focus the US Open in two months.

At Wimbledon, Hewitt fell two victories short of achieving his ambition of climbing back into the world's top 20, but if he plays as well at Flushing Meadows as he did this week he will probably leave New York back in that top flight of the game.

Despite lifting his ranking from 56 to 44 at Wimbledon, he would need strong performances in the next two months to earn a seeding at the US Open. As things stand, he can expect to face a highly seeded player in the early rounds, as he did last week when he met Del Potro in the second round.

Hewitt is showing his best form for several years, but Roddick, who turns 27 in two months, has also pulled off a marked improvement in his fitness, saying yesterday: "I'm in better shape now than I was when I was 24."

Roddick was quick to impose himself on yesterday's match, winning his first service game without dropping a point and then immediately breaking Hewitt's service after the Australian double-faulted twice from deuce.

Hewitt said later his service was restricted by the lingering effect of a thigh strain suffered in the previous round.

Roddick was soon serving for the set at 5-3, and when Hewitt took a 0-30 lead the American brushed off the challenge with a 225km/h ace amid an intimidating barrage of serves that had ball boys and linesmen jumping for safety.

Hewitt's cheer squad, the Fanatics, had again camped out to secure two dozen front-row seats and they had something to yell about in the fourth game of the second set when Hewitt parried and scrambled his way to a break point, then grabbed the chance to lead 3-1.

Three games later Roddick broke back, leaving Hewitt so angry with himself that he twice slammed his racquet into his troublesome left thigh.

Hewitt attacked Roddick's next service game but when he managed to take a 15-40 lead the American reeled off three of the 14 aces he served in the set. With no further breaks of service, the set went to a tiebreak, which Hewitt took 12-10.

With the score reading one set apiece, both players held service throughout the third without even facing a break point, as Roddick served an average of 16kmh faster than Hewitt, but the smaller man relied on accuracy and astute placement.

The third-set tiebreak was an anti-climax, with Hewitt offering up two double-faults and winning only one point before Roddick sealed the set. Roddick broke Hewitt's service at the start of the fourth set only for Hewitt to quickly level the scores and then take the set himself with a break of service that seemed to come from nowhere when Roddick was serving at 4-5.

Roddick later saluted Hewitt's strategy in that fourth set, saying the Australian adjusted his game to cope with his strained thigh.

The deciding set began with an epic service game by Hewitt, who was forced to deuce six times before he managed to hold on. At 4-4 Hewitt was pushed to the brink again but this time Roddick converted.

On his second break point the American rifled a forehand down the line to leave Hewitt stranded at the net and himself serving for the match. When Hewitt floated a forehand over the baseline the match was over after 3hr and 50min, leaving Roddick more relieved than delighted.

"It was tough from a mental standpoint because Lleyton wasn't going away and there were kind of a lot of ebbs and flows to the match. I'm just happy to be on the good side of it," the sixth seed said. "

Your mind is just racing for four hours. So then it's relief, happiness, and almost kind of an instant shutdown mode."

July 1

Preview: Roddick v Hewitt

Tuesday, 30 June 2009

Written by Kate Battersby

If you were to sit down and try to devise a Wimbledon men’s quarter-final with gigantic all-round popular appeal, you would be hard-pressed to come up with a better tie than the match between Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt.

It is not just that they are both former world number ones, although that helps, and each coincidentally has 27 career titles to his name. Their charismatic entertainment value was perhaps best personified by that image of them from Queen’s earlier this month, when their third round match was delayed by a security alert, and they spent 15 minutes laughing and chatting together on court at the net before they were given the all-clear to start warming up.

Hewitt may be sure of the noisier crowd support here – a knot of yellow-clad Australians have followed him throughout the fortnight – but in terms of which player will enjoy the greater crowd backing, it will be a close-run thing.

“Playing Lleyton, everything is a fight,” says Roddick. “He’s not going to give you anything. He doesn’t really have a lot of holes in his game. He’s pretty solid off both sides. He volleys well. You’re definitely not going to get on top of him mentally.”

But Roddick will not be thrown by the volume of support from the Australian fans for Hewitt. “No, that’s fine,” he says. “I’ve dealt with fans before. I have no problem with the crowd getting rowdy, as long as the respect level is there. I have no issue with it at all.”

Hewitt, of course, is loving the support from his fellow citizens. “They’ve been great,” he grins. “I draw a lot of emotion and energy from those guys out there. The rest of the crowd seem to be going for me as well. Especially when you’ve got to dig deep, to find a way out of it, you know they’re going to be there for the long haul.”

Head-to-head Hewitt leads their career encounters 6-5, but 26-year-old Roddick has had the edge the past four times, including their two matches on grass. Now ranked six, Roddick won his lone Grand Slam at the US Open in 2003, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final, who is a possible semi-final opponent for the American here. But he would need to lift the gold trophy on Sunday to secure a return to the top five, where he was last ranked in November 2007.

Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion and the only Australian man to start the main draw, is in his first Grand Slam quarter-final since the US Open of 2006. The 28-year-old is unseeded here for the first time in 10 years. After a hip injury last year, he dropped out of the top 100 this February for the first time since 1999, but by making the last eight here he is back in the top 45.

He will surely take huge confidence from his heroic comeback in the fourth round against Radek Stepanek, when he recovered from two sets down. Interestingly, he has the highest tally of 0-2 comebacks of any active player.

“I have loads of respect for Lleyton and what he’s been able to accomplish,” says Roddick, who is enjoying his first Wimbledon under the tutelage of coach Larry Stefanki. “Everyone knows he’s certainly capable of playing very well on this surface. I don’t think anyone in the locker room at any point took Lleyton lightly, especially on grass. It certainly elevates him into one of the better players in this tournament.

“I’ve seen him play too much good tennis to have ever really let him drift too far from consciousness so far as the top guys go. He definitely got the best of me for a little while. I feel like we always had close matches. I just pulled a couple out. I was lucky to get through in Memphis this year and we had a real good match at Queen’s a couple of weeks ago.”

Hewitt agrees with him there. “Queen’s was only one or two points in the match,” muses the Australian, coached these days by Tony Roche, albeit for the Slams only. “You know you’re going to get aced out there. You know he’s going to come up with big shots. You’ve got to weather the storm and take those small chances when you get the opportunity.”

This quarter-final at least guarantees one thing – a popular winner at the end of it.

June 29

Lleyton Hewitt produced a stunning comeback from two sets to love down to beat Radek Stepanek and reach the quarter-finals.

The 2002 champion, who has surprised many by making the second week of The Championships, looked like he was about to see his fairytale run come to an end out on Court Two as he fell behind against the No 23 seed. But he hit back with a series of sizzling winners to turn the match on his head, winning 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

The Czech was in complete control early on as Hewitt failed to find any rhythm and it was easy to see why the Australian has fallen to a pitiful No 56 in the world rankings.

But Hewitt is a true Aussie battler and, with Stepanek starting to feel the effect of a knee injury, he fought back sensationally.

The 28-year-old, screamed on all the way by an almost annoyingly loud Australian contingent, took advantage as Stepanek’s serve faded, firing the sort of winning returns that won him the title seven years ago.

As a taped up Stepanek received treatment on what seemed like most parts of his aching body, it was clear there was going to be only one winner, the crowd delighted as Hewitt screamed one last ‘C’mon’ to take the match in just under three hours.

June 28

Hewitt cheered into fourth round by boisterous Aussies

Tennis News

By Bill Scott Jun 27, 2009, 16:11 GMT

London - Former champion Lleyton Hewitt showed his Wimbledon pedigree as he reached the second week for the sixth straight year through a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 defeat of German Philipp Petzschner Saturday.

Accompanied by a chorus of singing from yellow-shirted Australian Fanatic fans at nearly every changeover, the former number one who lifted the trophy in 2002, continued his remarkable run with the third-round victory in just under two and a half hours.

The 56th-ranked Hewitt who underwent hip surgery last summer, held off 16 aces from his opponent to advance.

German Tommy Haas, 31, a one-time world number two who has undergone multiple shoulder operations, finished of a thriller held over in the fifth set due to darkness, defeating 11th seed Marin Cilic, 7-5, 7-5, 1-6, 6-7 (3-7), 10-8.

Haas had a late-night Indian takeaway at his rented house after undergoing physio on his tired 29-year-old body Friday night.

'While that was going on, we were listening to all the great legendary songs from Michael Jackson,' he added.

'Winning these kind of matches, it's like you're still on a high in some ways. The body's feeling a little bit tired, to be honest. It was a long match, a tough battle yesterday with so many ups and downs.

'Also mentally it drains you for sure. But overall, I'm feeling great.'

June 25

Andy Murray served up exactly what the nation was hoping for as the sun settled over southwest London — a cool, unruffled 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis. Andy Roddick, Venus Williams, Dinara Safina, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic moved on, too. But the day belonged to Lleyton Hewitt.

The feisty little Australian who won the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon a year later harked back to his halcyon years with a complete demolition of the No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro by a score that, if anything, flattered the Argentine. It read 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, but once Hewitt had overcome a sudden bout of nerves when he served for a two-set lead — a double fault was followed by a forehand that struggled to reach the net — the Aussie dominated proceedings with his fleet footwork, whipped backhands and great serving.

I can't remember ever having seen Hewitt serve better than he did in the first set. People may have forgotten that it was not the brilliance of his serve that took him to the top of the tennis tree eight years ago. A defense that proved be a forerunner of what Rafael Nadal has produced from behind the baseline and a determination to fight, battle and scrape for every point laid the foundation of his success and all those virtues were merely complimented today by a serve that produced 14 aces, many of them at those moments that make an opponent's heart sink.

As Roddick mentioned later, Hewitt's ability to keep the ball low on this slow court made life very difficult for the 6-foot-6 Argentine. The fact that it was grass and it was Hewitt across the net also worked against del Potro.

"It is difficult for me playing on this kind of surface and Lleyton has much more experience than me," del Potro said. "I need time to learn. At the end, I said 'Congrats'. He did a very good match. You know, he's one my idols. I started to follow him when I was young, like 11, 12 years."

For Hewitt, the happiness this victory had brought him was written all over his face. He had been very frustrated sitting at home in Sydney, changing diapers, instead of playing the U.S. Open because of hip surgery. Still, he always felt he had a performance like this in him, and he went out and proved it.

"It was a big one," he admitted. "I wanted to beat a top-five guy. These are the places you want to do it, too. I've got a lot of respect for del Potro. He's a great player and he's only going to get better."

June 24

David v Goliath - Hewitt sizes up his next big challenge

Richard Hinds in London

June 25, 2009 - 12:59AM

IT SEEMS almost every time Lleyton Hewitt now steps on the court at a grand slam tournament he faces a defining moment.

However, as he attempts to prove that he is more than mere testing material for a generation of younger, bigger, stronger opponents, the Australian's second-round Wimbledon encounter with the powerful 20-year-old Juan Martin Del Potro holds particular significance.

Disarmed by the wear and tear his game has taken on his once-inexhaustible body, this is a match in which Hewitt can fire one of his last remaining weapons - his grasscourt experience.

Even in conditions that have become markedly slower in the seven years since he won the title, Hewitt expects his status as one of only two champions in the men's field to count for something against one of the game's muscular young stars.

"It has changed a little bit, I think," says Hewitt of the diminished pace of the courts after his impressive 6-4, 6-1, 6-1, victory over American Robby Ginepri. "But there's still areas where grass, compared with any other surface, you can get a slight edge I think from knowing how to move and how to play and the craft of playing on this surface."

What remains to be seen is whether the 180-centimetre Hewitt's edge in grasscourt experience will counter the massive disadvantage he has in size, power and recent form against the 198cm Argentinian, who took Roger Federer to five sets in their French Open semi-final.

Hewitt has not played Del Potro but studies his opponents more keenly than most and has no allusions about the challenge.

"It's going to be a tough match," he said. "He's a class player. He was only a couple of points from maybe winning the French Open a couple of weeks ago. But it's a different surface and he hasn't had his best success [on grass]. But, as I said, he is a class player."

Having practised for Wimbledon on one of the few grasscourts in Argentina, Del Potro proved he was no neophyte of the lawns by smashing Arnaud Clement 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 in his opening match.

Before the tournament, one local newspaper pondered the question whether the fifth-ranked Del Potro was too big to win Wimbledon, the supposition being he would slip and stumble around the slick surface. While Del Potro's expectations on grass remain modest, he does not share that concern.

"With the serve, my movements, my volleys, I think I have an advantage over small players," he says. "But sometimes could be difficult to move or to play slow balls. But now I'm doing good, so I have to win the same way."

For his part, Hewitt is used to playing David against many Goliaths and is more concerned about being the lone Australian male in the men's draw. "It worries me that we don't have players, absolutely," he said.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

June 23

Hewitt back to battling best

Tuesday, 23 June 2009

Written by Ronald Atkin

The joy of fatherhood apart, there have been some bleak times for Lleyton Hewitt in recent years, culminating in a hip operation last year and a ranking that dipped outside the top 100 for the former world number one and 2002 Wimbledon champion.

But today, in the warm sun out on Court 3, the man who used to play nearly all his matches on Wimbledon's two main show courts frolicked like the Lleyton of old as he thrashed American Robby Ginepri 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 in one hour 31 minutes.

He did it the Hewitt way, too, on a court that used to bear the number two and the more ominous nickname of ‘Graveyard of Champions’. Many are the star names who have tumbled out on this patch of turf, from Pete Sampras and John McEnroe down, and when Hewitt promptly fell 3-0 behind there were fears that, if the court's number had changed, its reputation had not.

But tradition - and an increasingly chastened Ginepri - were banished in harness as Hewitt swept 18 of the next 21 games. The only manner in which the 26-year-old from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, could match the man from Down Under was in the choice of back-to-front headgear. But the spectators were in no doubt about which cap was the more dominant once Hewitt had taken measure of the opposition and put it to flight.

Though Ginepri is a loyal subscriber to the Wimbledon occasion (this was his seventh straight Championships appearance) his last win came back in 2004 and, after those first three games, there was no chance that the dismal sequence would be ended.

After all those postwar glory years of Australian domination at this event, the shock statistic is that Hewitt is the only man from that nation to have made it into the men's draw, though on this showing he is a worthy representative.

Increasingly sure on the serve - he struck 13 acres - and accurate off the ground, Hewitt not only destroyed Ginepri's game but undermined his health.

After a second set that Hewitt won in just 22 minutes Ginepri called for the trainer and spent several minutes flat on his back having his neck massaged. Though he bravely opted to resume, it was difficult to tell whether the American was feeling worse or better, so comprehensively was he being outplayed by a rampant Hewitt.

When he dropped serve for the fifth time to go 3-1 down in the third set, Ginepri's spirit was clearly broken too and the end was only delayed by another brief spell of treatment.

The final blow, an arrowed backhand pass, was greeted with a roar of "C'mon" from a delighted Hewitt, who clearly revelled in the acclaim he received. Where better to get things back on course than Wimbledon, scene of his greatest triumph?

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt cruises into second round at Wimbledon

From correspondents in London, England
June 24, 2009

Lleyton Hewitt has eased into the second round at Wimbledon with a straight-sets victory over Robby Ginepri of the United States.

The Australian came back from 1-4 down in the first set to dispatch his first-round opponent 6-4 6-1 6-1 in an hour and 31 minutes.

Hewitt put his early stumble down to nerves and taking time to adjust to the playing conditions.

“It's always tough, any tournament I think, the first few games, just get the nerves out of the way,'' he said.

“Apart from that small hiccup, it was pretty smooth sailing after that. I was able to dictate when I wanted to.

“My serve picked up. I felt like I was in all of his service games, which was good.''

Hewitt next faces Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who also had an easy first-round victory, beating Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-3 6-1 6-2.

Hewitt found his rhythm to overcome the early deficit.

He completely dominated the second set, breaking Ginepri with a blazing forehand return to convert his second set point.

The American called for the trainer in the break and twice between games in the third set for treatment to the left side of his neck.

After a tight beginning, Hewitt broke through for a 3-1 lead and from there easily booked his place in the next round.

Agence France-Presse

June 22

Cahill tips Hewitt for top-10 return

Valkerie Baynes

June 22, 2009 - 1:49PM

Darren Cahill believes Lleyton Hewitt can break back into the world's top 10, and what better place to start his run than in the first round at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

The highly sought after coach said his fellow South Australian had been making encouraging inroads as he works his way back up the rankings following hip surgery.

And while Cahill does not see the 2002 Wimbledon champion, now ranked No.56, returning to the top spot he held at that time, he is backing him to reach single figures again.

"I don't think he'll get back to one, I don't think he would expect to get back to one," Cahill told AAP.

"The top four guys are playing a different level of game now and physically also you've got to play week-in week-out at such a high level.

"The way he plays, I don't think physically his body could stand up to it, but I certainly believe there's a big opportunity for Lleyton between five and 25.

"All those players are very, very closely packed and if Lleyton was to put together a good six months of tennis, there's no question he could find himself anywhere amongst that group."

A clay court title in Houston in April and a gallant defeat at the hands of Andy Roddick at Queen's preceded a win over an injured Rafael Nadal during a hard-fought exhibition match last week.

And with a 5-0 win-loss record against Wimbledon first round opponent Robby Ginepri of the United States, a second-round clash against Argentine No.5 seed Juan Martin del Potro looms.

"I think most of the players would think Lleyton would give del Potro a real run for his money, so I'm quietly confident he will have a good tournament," Cahill told AAP.

"He just needs one of those results to turn it around.

"He's lost to a lot of the good guys in tight matches lately. If he can knock off one of the top-10 guys and gain that confidence, get on a roll, I think you'll see that happen on a regular basis."

Hewitt shrugged off an injury scare and moved freely during practice for his 11th Wimbledon campaign on Sunday.

The 28-year-old lost his footing during practice on Saturday and remained on the ground for some time, clearly in discomfort.

When he stood up, he clutched at his hip, but then continued to train apparently unhindered for about another half hour.

Hewitt was also not bothered by a change in schedule which meant his first round match was put back a day.

After Nadal's withdrawal, organisers decided five-time champion and 2008 runner-up Roger Federer would play the first Centre Court match on Monday.

That meant the top half of the draw, including Hewitt and British No.3 seed Andy Murray, were set to play the following day.

June 19

Lleyton Hewitt will feel rather lonely at Wimbledon this year as he will be only man flying the Australian flag when the grasscourt championships begin on Monday.

The country which dominated Wimbledon from the 1950s until the early 1970s by producing champions such as Lew Hoad, Ashley Cooper, Neale Fraser, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson and John Newcombe is down to one representative in the men's draw for the first time at a grand slam since tennis turned professional in 1968.

According to ITF records, the previous worst showing by the country which has won the Davis Cup 28 times was when there were two Australians at the U.S. Open in 2006, at the All England Club in 2008 and at this year's French Open.

In Paris, Hewitt was joined by teenage prodigy Bernard Tomic. But the 16-year-old's bid to become the youngest man to qualify for Wimbledon since Boris Becker 25 years ago stalled in the final round of qualifying.

While the French and U.S. Opens have reciprocal agreements with Tennis Australia to award at least one of its players a wildcard into the main draw, Wimbledon has opted out of the arrangement. Which has left Hewitt out on his own.

As the only active Australian player to have won singles grand slam titles -- at the U.S. Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 -- the former world number one will be determined to make his presence felt over the next fortnight.

But it might prove to be a little tricky after the 56th-ranked Hewitt, described as the most dangerous floater in the 128-strong field by many of his rivals, was drawn to face champion Rafael Nadal in a potential second-round showdown.

Provided Nadal's knees hold up and the Spaniard opts to defend his title, Hewitt will be hoping he wins more than just the five games he grabbed in their third-round match at Roland Garros last month.

The 28-year-old is expected to open his account against American Robby Ginepri on Monday.

**Nadal has now withdrawn therefore Del Potro is placed to face Lleyton in the 2nd round

June 13

Hewitt positive about Wimbledon

LLEYTON Hewitt is confident he can make in-roads at Wimbledon despite his third-round exit from Queen's at the hands of Andy Roddick. Encouragingly for Hewitt, the 2002 Wimbledon champion, he didn't drop his serve in the 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-4) loss to the big-serving second seed on Thursday.

Hewitt said he had spent enough time on the lush lawns of London to know that he is in good nick heading into Wimbledon starting Monday week. "I take a lot away," said Hewitt, a four-time champion in the traditional lead-up event at Queen's.

"Not many guys are going to beat Roddick on this surface, there's only a handful of guys that have the opportunity if he's serving that well. But I felt like I mixed it with him. It could have gone either way. There was only a couple points here and there.

"I was an early mini-break up in both tie-breaks and couldn't just quite close it out when I needed to.

"But overall it's been a good week. Hopefully I can get a good draw at Wimbledon and see what happens."

Hewitt said five-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer deserved slight favouritism for the year's third grand slam ahead of reigning title holder Rafael Nadal, despite them citing exhaustion and knee problems respectively following the French Open.

"Roger's in front, but you have to put Rafa second very close behind," Hewitt said. "He's the defending champ. That's got to be in the back of your mind, and the back of Roger's mind as well.

"Nadal's the only guy who's beaten Roger on grass for five or six years now. "Those two out in front and then the next couple, you know, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and Roddick and a few others."

Hewitt had a frustrating start to his match with Roddick.

There was a 15-minute delay while security guards searched for a bomb after a note was seen which claimed a device was on the grounds. "We weren't told anything. They just said that we had to wait, there was something going on," Hewitt said.

"There obviously was a bit of a commotion out on the court. We weren't 100 per cent what was going on."

Hewitt, meanwhile, had some fatherly advice for Federer's rivals — becoming a father won't change the Swiss master's thirst for winning. Federer's wife Mirka is due to give birth to the couple's first child in August and there's been speculation that the distractions of fatherhood could see him lose a little spark on the court. Hewitt, a father of two, says nothing could be further from the truth. "I think when you're that good a player, you've got to be self motivated to be that good and to win that many matches," he said.

"And to be able to do it, he's got to be extremely mentally tough. You don't lose that. He's not going to lose that."

AAP

June 11

Nothing goes right for Hewitt at Queen's

Reuters, Thursday June 11 2009

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Lleyton Hewitt has every reason to feel hard done by with his run at Queen's Club this week as he warms up for the Wimbledon championships.

The Australian could have hoped for a kinder draw than a match-up with fellow four times Queen's champion Andy Roddick in the third round.

Hewitt was also the only one who earned a break point in the showdown between the two former world number ones.

But once he fluffed that opportunity, he was squeezed out by the American 7-6 7-6.

"It's a bit frustrating but it's tough," the 28-year-old Hewitt told reporters.

"Playing Andy you always know that's going to be the case and... you're not going to have a lot of chances out there. It's a matter of taking those when you get those small opportunities.

"In terms of the actual service games, I felt like I was having the better of him. I didn't feel under pressure that much on my service games."

Hewitt has failed to win a major since the second of his grand slam titles at Wimbledon in 2002.

However, despite not getting beyond the fourth round of a major since 2006, he said his week at Queen's had boosted his confidence.

"I take a lot away. Not many guys are going to beat him (Roddick) on this surface," said Hewitt. "There's only a handful of guys that have the opportunity probably if he's serving that well.I felt like I mixed it with him.

"It could have gone either way. Overall, it has been a good week for me. I'm happy with the way that I've hit the ball. Now it's just a matter of fine tuning a few things and being fresh and mentally ready more than anything."

June 10

Lleyton Hewitt was forced to dig deep to beat Frederico Gil 3-6 6-2 6-2 in the second round at Queen's, while the seeds Marin Cilic and Paul Henri Mathieu fell.

Russia's Marat Safin withdrew from the tournament with a back injury.

Hewitt is a four-time champion at the traditional Wimbledon warm-up event, but his chances of winning a fifth title looked to be slipping away when the Portuguese Gil outplayed the Australian to take the first set.

But Hewitt hit back to take the second set before finishing off the Portuguese ruthlessly in the third to set up a clash with fellow four-time winner Andy Roddick.

June 9

FORMER world number one Lleyton Hewitt insists he is still finding his feet at the AEGON Championships, despite a thumping opening win at Queen's.

GREASY GRASS: Lleyton Hewitt blasts into round two at Queen's but insists he is still finding his feet

The 28-year-old is unseeded at Queen's, despite creeping back into the top 50 in the world, having dropped down to 67 at the end of 2008.

The Sydney-based Australian underwent surgery on his hip six months ago, but reached the third round of the French Open last month before he was dumped out 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 by clay court colossus Rafael Nadal.

But Hewitt, who has a formidable record at Queen's, having captured the title on four occasions - most recently in 2006, wasted no time in disposing of Argentina's Eduardo Schwank with a 6-1, 6-0 victory.

After Schwank had held serve in the opening game, the 15th-seeded Australian reeled off 12 straight games to progress to the second round.

"It's a really good way to start," he said. "You can never be too sure how you're going to get on in your first game on grass so it's a really good feeling.

"It's nice to get off to such a good start because you can never been too sure coming out of the clay-court season.

"You obviously have to stop sliding and you can feel a bit slippery under-foot but there were no problems for me out there today.

"I was really happy with how I returned the ball today. He didn't serve badly but I made him hit a lot of balls.

"The courts here are fantastic, arguably the best in the world. There's very little to choose between here and Wimbledon but you can be pretty safe in the knowledge you won't get a bad bounce."

And the 2002 Wimbledon champion is convinced Murray is one of just a handful of players who can lift the 2009 crown at the All England Club.

"Andy's an extremely good player on this surface and while Roger Federer is probably going to be the one to beat at Wimbledon, Andy will definitely be in the mix.

"At the French Open, once Rafa (Nadal) went out there was Roger and there were quite a few guys who had enough talent and belief to win the tournament.

"But I think it's slightly different at Wimbledon. There are only about four players who I think genuinely believe they can win and Andy is definitely one of those."

After his comfortable singles win, Hewitt took to the court with world number three Andy Murray in the doubles to beat Americans Andy Roddick and Rajeev Ram 3-6 6-3 12-10.

May 29

Defending champion Rafael Nadal was in dominant form as he continued his rapid progress at the French Open, outplaying Lleyton Hewitt to reach round four.

After wrapping up the first set in just 30 minutes, Nadal overcame sterner resistance from Hewitt in the second set with some astonishing winners.

The top seed ran away with the third set to complete a 6-1 6-3 6-1 victory.

But all eyes were on Nadal, who again showed why he is the man to beat at Roland Garros with a scintilating display against the former world number one.

Nadal piled the pressure on Hewitt from the start, breaking the Australian twice in his first three service games to lead 5-1 and saving a break point of his own before wrapping up the first set.

Hewitt's serve was undone again by the Spaniard's thumping groundstrokes at the start of the second set but the former world number one showed trademark determination to win three games in a row and lead 3-2.

Stubborness on its own was not enough, however, and two phenomenal forehand winners down the line from Nadal quickly saw him break again and Hewitt soon found himself two sets down.

There was no way back from there and Nadal raced through the third set to clinch his 31st straight win in Paris.

"For sure it was my best match here so far," said the champion. "I felt much better today and a win against Lleyton is always a great win. It was an amazing result."

Hewitt admitted: "It's tough against him. You have to start well as he is such a great player when he's in front. He goes for his shots and dictates all the time so it gets harder and harder.

"He's hitting the ball extremely clean and he has that heavy spin. He makes you rush, he hits passing shots on the run and makes you try harder."

May 28

Hewitt to battle Nadal at French Open

Belinda Tasker

May 28, 2009 - 5:49AM

Lleyton Hewitt has set up a showdown with world No.1 Rafael Nadal in the third round of the French Open after beating Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev 6-4 6-3 6-1. Hewitt clenched his fist in victory after beating Golubev in one hour and 54 minutes in their evening match at Roland Garros on Wednesday.

Hewitt's victory seals his path to a ninth career meeting against the tournament's four-time reigning champion Nadal, with their series locked at four wins apiece. Nadal booked his place opposite Hewitt after enjoying a 6-1 6-4 6-2 win against Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili - his 30th consecutive victory at Roland Garros.

Hewitt says he has not even begun to focus on his encounter with Nadal. "Obviously I'll start doing that now," the former world No. 1 told reporters.

"He's the man to beat here and he has been for the last four or five years now.

"So I'll go out there and play my game and hopefully I can have one of my best matches." Hewitt, with plenty of crowd support behind him, looked comfortable throughout his match against Golubev despite the light rain which began to fall in the second set.

It was a different scene from Monday when the Australian weathered a record 55-ace barrage from the big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic during a five-set marathon under a blazing sun. Golubev, who was making his debut in the men's draw at Roland Garros, often looked frustrated during match as he misfired several shots on the clay surface and failed to convert eight break points.

"It was a totally different kind of match up today," Hewitt said."I had a lot of opportunities to get into a lot more points out there.

"It was a more typical clay court match out there. "He's a young dangerous opponent though. He goes for a lot of shots and has a lot of fire power from both sides from the back of the court and his first serves are pretty dangerous as well.

"I didn't really know anything about him though going into the match so it took me probably the first set to really suss out his strengths and weaknesses a little bit more. "I played a pretty smart match."

The tournament marks Hewitt's 10th appearance at Roland Garros, where he reached the quarter finals in 2001 and 2004.

May 25

French open - Age may have slowed him but the fire still burns within Hewitt

Richard Hinds

May 26, 2009 - 12:26AM

LITTLE wonder when Lleyton Hewitt saw that his first-round opponent at this year's French Open was the hulking Croatian Ivo Karlovic his mind took him to a dark place.

Back to the first - and only - match of his title defence at Wimbledon in 2003, one that would bring to an end his time at the sport's summit and, with the emergence of Roger Federer and the inevitable toll taken by his own exhausting game, mark the start of a gradual decline from all-conquering tyro to noble battler.

Hewitt's 2003 loss to the then 203rd-ranked qualifier Karlovic was the second time in 126 years the reigning men's singles champion had lost in the first round. But it is the acrimonious circumstances as much as the result that will have stayed with him.

Just three weeks before Wimbledon, Hewitt had split from coach Jason Stoltenberg. About the same time, he had commenced a bitter, potentially distracting defamation case against the ATP Tour, which claimed he had failed to fulfil media commitments. And, the week before Wimbledon, he had relinquished the No.1 ranking held for all but two weeks from November 2001 to Andre Agassi - never to be regained.

Even the vast stature of Hewitt's conqueror had seemed symbolic. The 208cm Croatian was just the sort of ballistic giant many had predicted would wipe Hewitt from the court once his youthful speed was reduced by age and wear and tear.

The Karlovic loss did not spell the end of Hewitt as a major player. It was the emergence of Federer, who seized the Wimbledon title left vacant by Hewitt, that would snuff out any hope he had of reclaiming the No.1 spot (Federer beat Hewitt in the 2004 US Open and Masters Cup finals and the 2005 Wimbledon semi-finals and has a 12-0 record against the Australian since 2004).

Yet Hewitt had not let go of that symbolic defeat. "My first thought when I saw the draw was that loss at Wimbledon and that it was a chance to turn the tables," he said on Sunday having endured a serving bombardment that would have levelled a small village to win 6-7 (1-7), 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-3.

So typical of Hewitt, it was not merely the result but also the nature of the match that made long-awaited revenge sweet. Trailing two sets to love and risking severe whiplash watching an eventual Open-era grand slam record 55 aces (the all-time mark was reportedly 59 by Ed Kauder at the 1955 US Open) whiz past, the Australian's only weapon was his point-blank refusal to entertain the notion of defeat.

"To play him on any surface is hard especially when his ace count is up in the 50s," said Hewitt. "After losing the tie-breakers it's more of a mental battle. You have to hang in there and go the distance."

Hanging in there and going the distance are, of course, Hewitt's specialties. This was the fifth time he had come from two sets down to win a grand slam match and, despite having inflicted so much pain with his serve, inevitably it was the aching, dehydrated Karlovic who was left to shuffle around the court in the final set like a line-dancing pensioner.

To those who witnessed that shock loss in 2003, it was Hewitt's lack of fight and court craft that revealed all was not right in his world. Now, as a family man who might have repaired to his northern beaches mansion and soothed his aching body in the spa rather than dragging it around the red dirt, those enduring characteristics now endear him to a once indifferent public.

Next Hewitt plays Andrey Golubev who, as Kazakhstan's finest, has so far been associated with more Borat jokes than major victories. Then, almost certainly, would come Rafael Nadal, who has not lost so much as a game of locker-room cards at Roland Garros. This time, it would be Hewitt who would have the (faint) chance of orchestrating a stupendous upset.

Funny how after six years some things are so different. And, as with Hewitt's great heart, some things never change.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

May 24

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt came from two sets down to beat Ivo Karlovic 6-7 (1-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-3 on day one of the French Open.

Karlovic breezed through the first set tie-break and after breaks were traded, took the second in similar fashion.

But Hewitt edged the third set on a tie-break and broke once in both the fourth and fifth for a fine win, despite 55 aces from Karlovic.

Hewitt plays Andrey Golubev in round two after the Kazakhstan player beat Denis Gremelmayr, and the victor is likely to meet four-time champion and world number one Rafael Nadal in round three.

Hewitt looked set to fall in the opening round for the first time since 1999 as Karlovic, seeded number 26, made a fine start.

The big-serving Croatian's ace-count of 55 was an Open era record, beating the previous best of 51 set by Joachim Johansson at the Australian Open in 2005, a match the Swedish player also lost.

But Karlovic, who has fallen at the first hurdle in four of his six appearances in Paris, began to wilt amid soaring temperatures and Hewitt was able to launch a sensational fightback.

Once the Australian had levelled the tie at two sets apiece, Karlovic needed treatment for dehydration and the two-time quarter-finalist seized his opportunity, breaking decisively in game three of the deciding set.

He wrapped up victory - overturning a two-set deficit for the fifth time in his career - when Karlovic, by now reduced to walking pace, went long with a dreadful overhead volley.

Hewitt was happy to gain revenge after famously losing to Karlovic in the first round of Wimbledon as defending champion in 2003.

"My first thought when I saw the draw was that loss at Wimbledon and that it was a chance to turn the tables," said the 28-year-old.

"To play him on any surface is hard, especially when his ace-count is up in the 50s. After losing the tie-breakers it's more of a mental battle. You have to hang in there and go the distance.

"There's a lot of pressure there and he's improved a lot in the last five years. He's a better player from the baseline and his low volleys are a lot better."

May 23

LLEYTON Hewitt has branded the International Tennis Federation a "disgrace" for fining Australia $13,000 over its boycott of a Davis Cup tie against India.

The ITF issued Tennis Australia with the fine on Friday after it refused to send its Davis Cup team to Chennai for the May 8-10 tie because of security concerns.

The boycott angered Indian tennis officials and forced the ITF to consider suspending Australia from the competition next year.

Hewitt told reporters at the French Open the affair was "a circus".

"The way the ITF went about it was a disgrace in the first place," he said.

"I fully back what Tennis Australia has done.

"Everyone to do with the Australian Davis Cup team is pretty disappointed about the way they've gone about it.

"I'm not pissing in my own pocket but I've been going out after Davis Cup as much as anyone in the last 10 years and put Davis Cup first and the way the ITF went about this was very ordinary."

As well as slapping Tennis Australia with a fine, the ITF also said Australia would lose its choice of ground for its next home tie regardless of the opponent.

Australia pulled out of the Asia-Oceania Group 1 playoff citing security concerns following the deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai last November.

Tennis Australia had asked for the event to be moved to a neutral venue but the ITF insisted it should go ahead as scheduled.

The boycott gave India automatic qualification for the World Group play-offs in September.

May 22

Lleyton Hewitt faces the daunting prospect of an early clash with world No.1 Rafael Nadal at this year's French Open. The Australian will begin his clay court campaign against the Croatian 26th seed Ivo Karlovic, who has beaten Hewitt each of the three times they have met in the past six years.

The last time they came face to face in the 2007 quarter finals of the Japan Open when the big serving Croatian, now ranked No.28 in the world, defeated Hewitt 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6). The other two times they have played was on grass, when Karlovic knocked Hewitt, whose ranking is now 50, out of the 2005 quarter finals at Queen's Club in England and Wimbledon's first round in 2003.

If Hewitt manages to break his losing streak against Karlovic, he will come up against Germany's Denis Gremelmayr or Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev in the second round before facing the prospect of Nadal in the third. Hewitt's manger David Drysdale said the former world No.1, who was a quarter-finalist at Roland Garros in 2001 and 2004, would not be too concerned about meeting Karlovic again because this time it would be on clay.

"Obviously his first round match isn't going to be an easy one," Drysdale told AAP."He's played Karlovic on grass twice and lost so he would probably feel he is in with a shot because it's clay.

"But if Karlovic comes out serving big, anything can happen." On the prospect of then having to take on Nadal in the third, Drysdale said: "You can't get anything harder."

"If he gets that far we will be happy, and he can go out thinking he's got nothing to lose. "But the focus will be on getting past the first match."

Australia's only other male in the main draw is wildcard entry, 16-year-old sensation Bernard Tomic who also faces a tough draw. He is due to meet German 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the first round, with Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero possibly waiting for him in the second. Tomic's agent Lawrence Frankopan said the teenager, who thrilled crowds at this year's Australian Open, was excited just to be included in the draw. "But being drawn against anyone who is seeded is tough but you are in a grand slam to see how good you are against the best in the world," Frankopan said.

In the women's draw, No.30 seed Samantha Stosur will play Italy's No.41 Francesca Schiavone, who the Australian beat at Indian Wells 6-1 6-4 in March.
Jelena Dokic will begin her French Open campaign against Croatian Karolina Sprem, who was beaten by the Australian in their only clash in Strasbourg six years ago 7-5 1-6 6-3. Dokic, whose father Damir Dokic was charged in Serbia on Friday over his alleged threats to blow up the car of Australia's ambassador to Serbia, had a short practice session on the clay, appearing frustrated at times. She refused to speak to waiting reporters. "I'm not doing any interviews," she said.

Meanwhile, Jarmila Groth will face French wildcard entrant Kinnie Laisne, while Australian wildcard Olivia Rogowska comes up against Russian Maria Kirilenko.

May 8

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt slid out of the Munich claycourt ATP event on Friday, Czech fourth seed Tomas Berdych ousting the Australian battler 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in their quarter-final.

Hewitt, who has endured two difficult injury-wracked seasons and now is ranked just 55th on the circuit, showed glimpses of his old form in taking the first set off Berdych and the Czech only just clawed his way through the deciding tiebreaker.

May 7

Lleyton Hewitt is through to the quarter-finals of the BMW Open in Germany after defeating Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker 6-3 6-4.

Hewitt will now take on no.4 seed Tomas Berdych in the final eight, after he earlier beat Germany's Andreas Beck 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-4).

Hewitt, a wild-card in the tournament, overcame a slow start in the match after he dropped the first three games but went on to win the next six.

He then went on in the second set to gain match point at 5-3, but served out the match in the next game to score his 501st career win, after reaching the 500 milestone earlier in the week.

May 5

MUNICH -- Lleyton Hewitt became only the third active player on the ATP Tour to reach 500 victories Tuesday when he saved two match points before beating Philipp Petzschner 6-2, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (8) in the opening round of the BMW Open.

The win did not come easy for the former No. 1 from Australia, who is seeking to climb back into the top 10 after dropping to No. 55 following hip surgery.

Hewitt, a wild-card entry, needed 2 hours, 34 minutes to overcome his German rival on a cool, damp day. Hewitt wasted two match points in the second set and then saved two in the decisive tiebreak before converting his seventh match point.

Hewitt now has a 500-170 career record, which includes two major titles. The only two other active players with more than 500 wins are Roger Federer with 638 and Carlos Moya with 573.

''It's nice to bring up those milestones and be among those calibre of players as well,'' Hewitt said after setting up a second-round meeting with Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker at the French Open lead-up event.

''That obviously means I'm getting old. I've been around for a long time. It's something I guess when you retire and you look back on it and realise you've had a pretty good career.''

Hewitt, 28, now possesses an impressive 500-170 career win-loss record, including grand slam triumphs at the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon in 2002 and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles in 2001-02 during his 80-week reign as world No1.

Hewitt hoisted a trophy every season from 1998 to 2007 before clinching his 27th career title last month in Houston.

April 25

Australia will not go to Chennai for the Davis Cup tie against India next month, Tennis Australia announced today.

The decision follows the International Tennis Federation board's rejection overnight of a Tennis Australia appeal to shift the tie out of India because of security concerns.

“We asked for the tie to be moved because we have major security concerns for the players, particularly during the election,” Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard explained.

“The ITF decision has left us with no other option,” Mr Pollard said. “We cannot send the team. It is extremely disappointing.”

“It would be irresponsible of us to send our players into an area of such high risk. Davis Cup is very important to us but some things are more important than tennis,” he said.

Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald said he was angry and upset with the ITF decision.

“It is just irresponsible. Surely some thought must be given to the players' safety.

“I believe they say the election is not a cause for concern, the IPL moving is not relevant and that an ATP tournament held in January shows it is safe to play in Chennai.

“So what about the fact that dozens of people are being killed along the campaign trail of the election? A train was hijacked this week, but that does not alter their thoughts? Did the IPL move for no reason,” Fitzgerald asked.

“The ATP event involved no national teams and was held three months prior to the election. This decision makes no sense. We have worked so hard to get back in to World Group contention, to have it snatched away like this is gut wrenching,” he said.

Fitzgerald said the players shared his disappointment and still hoped for an ITF change of heart prior to May 8.

April 14

MONTE CARLO, April 14 (Reuters) - Marat Safin brought Lleyton Hewitt down to earth on Tuesday when he won the battle of the former world number ones by beating him 6-4 7-5 in the first round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Australian Hewitt, who won the U.S. Clay Court Championships in Houston on Sunday, could not match Safin's accuracy and bowed out on the third match point when he sent a backhand wide.

Russian Safin, who topped the ATP rankings for the first time in November 2000 following his U.S. Open victory, next faces Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti.

He set his record straight to 7-7 with Hewitt, whom he beat in the Australian Open final in 2005.

Hewitt, who became world number one in November 2001, had his right thigh strapped after the first set but, true to his reputation, did not give up easily.

Safin was not too excited by his win, pointing out that Hewitt had only just arrived from the United States and was not in the best condition to compete.

"He arrived like two hours before the match. But he played well. I took advantage of the fact he was not used to these balls, I guess, and (his) condition was not really at its best," Safin told reporters.

"That's why he missed a couple of easy shots in important moments and I took advantage of it and won the match. So, nothing great. Nothing incredible to write about."

Both players traded breaks early in the match, with Safin stealing Hewitt's serve a second time in the 10th game to clinch the opening set.

World number 57 Hewitt, a wildcard entry, broke in the third game of the second set, only for Safin to level in the following with a forehand winner down the line.

The Russian wrapped up the win on his opponent's serve after 95 minutes.

"Obviously our rankings both aren't in the top 10 anymore, so you're not getting the protection of not playing each other early on," said Hewitt.

"But, yeah, he's obviously still a class player when he's on." (Editing by Sonia Oxley; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)

April 12

Lleyton Hewitt claimed his first title in over two years after downing American Wayne Odesnik 6-2 7-5 in the final of the US Men's Clay Court Championships.

The Australian, who had been winless since Las Vegas in March 2007, qualified for his first clay court final in a decade by defeating over Evgeny Korolev of Russia in the semi-finals.

Hewitt landed only 34% of his first serves during the match, which was delayed for 85 minutes due to rain, but broke Odesnik three times en route to taking the opening set.

The 28-year-old broke the American twice early in the second set to race out to a 3-0 lead but lost the next five games, three on his own service, to trail 5-3.

But Odesnik was unable to force a deciding set, dropping the next four games and presenting Hewitt with his first clay court title since Delray Beach in 1999 with an unforced error on match point.

It was the 498th career win for Hewitt, who is coming back from hip surgery last year.

"This is what all the hard work is for, to play weeks like this and have this kind of feeling at the end," said Hewitt after the match, which lasted two hours and three minutes.

"It makes going through the surgery and all the hard work worth it so, it's good stuff."

February 24

Lleyton Hewitt's exile from the top 100 is over.

The former world No. 1 will climb to about No.80 when new rankings are issued on Monday. Hewitt, 27, bowed out of the ATP Tour event in Memphis with a 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 semi-final loss to top seed Andy Roddick.

With wins against James Blake, Chris Guccione and Christophe Rochus, Hewitt earned 180 rankings points after entering the tournament ranked No.103. His rankings boost removes any doubt about Hewitt's main-draw status at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Disappointed in defeat, he counted several positives from his first tour semi-final since August 2007. "I played pretty well today and served well," Hewitt said. "I had a couple of chances in the second set and couldn't convert. Then in the third I was holding serve relatively easy but then I played a few loose points when I got broken.

"Overall the week was great for me and I played some tough matches and had some good wins. The hip held up pretty good and that's important." Hewitt was playing only his fourth event since having surgery on his left hip in August.

He will now start preparations for Australia's March 6-8 Davis Cup tie against Thailand in Bangkok. Hewitt won more points than Roddick (100 to 98) and dropped serve only once against the world No. 6.

Roddick advanced to his second tour final of the season after reaching the Doha decider in Qatar last month. The American will face Radek Stepanek in the final. Hewitt broke Roddick's serve twice in the first set, in the first and fifth games, and sealed the set with his fourth ace.

In the second set, both players held throughout, with Hewitt saving six break points while Roddick saved two break points in the seventh game. In the tiebreak, Roddick took a 2-0 lead with a forehand winner, then went up 6-2. He levelled the match when Hewitt hit a forehand into the net at 4-6. In the final set, Roddick broke for the only time in the seventh game as Hewitt netted a backhand on break point. Hewitt saved two match points in the ninth game on his serve before Roddick served out the match after 131 minutes. Roddick hit 16 aces to Hewitt's 14.

February 23

ANDY Roddick admitted he was lucky to beat Lleyton Hewitt in a semi-final of the ATP Tour's St Jude tournament in Memphis.

It was a classic match-up between two contemporaries, both with 26 titles, who are equal third behind Roger Federer (57) and Rafael Nadal (32). Ranked 103 in the world and seeking his first Tour crown since March 2007 as he continues his return from hip surgery last September, Hewitt got an early jump on top seed Roddick and looked well on top.

But the American fought his way back to win 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to move into the final against Czech Radek Stepanek. The loss left the former No1 frustrated and still without a win over a top-10 player since May 2007, but with the satisfaction of knowing he's playing well.

"I was lucky to get through," Roddick said. "He had me up against it for the better part of the match. "I kind of just snuck out of the tiebreaker there and played my best tennis in the third set."

Roddick has been in good form and went into the clash with a 15-3 record this year. However, he was impressed with Hewitt's quick return to form after his injury layoff.

"It's another testament to Lleyton's willpower, which I don't think has ever been questioned," Roddick said. Hewitt broke Roddick's high voltage serve twice and consequently cruised through the first set in 31 minutes.

In the second set tiebreak, Roddick raced to 6-2 and levelled the match when Hewitt hit a forehand into the net at 4-6. In the final set, Roddick broke the South Australian in the seventh game as Hewitt netted a backhand on break point.

"I returned especially well in the first set and gave myself some opportunities in the second set but couldn't quite take a couple of break points I did have," Hewitt said. "He came up with a couple of big shots at the right time.

"Overall the week was great for me and I played some tough matches and had some good wins. The hip held up pretty good and that's important."

February 22

LLEYTON Hewitt has continued his encouraging run at the combined ATP and WTA event in Memphis, booking his first semi-final appearance in 18 months.

Hewitt, on the comeback trail from hip surgery last August, easily overcame Belgian Christophe Rochus 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. The South Australian will face top seed Andy Roddick in his first semi-final appearance since his loss to Roger Federer in the Masters Series tournament in Cincinnati in August, 2007.

Hewitt, who won the most recent of his 26 singles titles in Las Vegas in February 2007, has a 6-3 win-loss record against Roddick, but they have not played since the American's straight-sets victory in the quarter-finals of the 2006 US Open.

Hewitt's ranking has slumped to No. 103, but he will receive a big boost in the standings from his Memphis performance, which included a first-round triumph over James Blake.

But more important to him than rankings points at present is getting time on the court.

"For me, it's about getting the matches," Hewitt said after beating Rochus. "I can't emphasise it enough.

"I've got to get out there and play week in and week out and the results will take care of themselves."

In meeting No. 6-ranked Roddick, Hewitt will be seeking his first top-10 scalp since beating then-world No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko in Hamburg in May, 2007.

February 18

Hewitt came back to defeat No. 3 seed James Blake 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in his Memphis debut. The 27-year-old Aussie evened his match record at 3-3 on the season by defeating Blake for the eighth time in nine meetings. It was their first encounter since the final at Queen's Club in June 2006 won by the Aussie.

Hewitt's win over the 13th-ranked American was his highest-ranked victory since beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny in the third round at last year's ATP Masters Series Indian Wells.

Blake accounted for the only break in the opening set as he went up 4-2 and then saved three break points before holding for 6-3. In the second set Hewitt broke through to take a 4-0 lead and went to even the match with a 6-1 decision. In the final set, Hewitt broke for a 4-3 lead as Blake hit a backhand long. In the next game, Hewitt saved a break point to hold for a 5-3 advantage. Blake saved two match points on his serve before the Aussie saved three break points on his serve, closing with his seventh ace of the match.

Hewitt saved 10 of 11 break points in the two hour and six minute battle while converting three of nine break chances. He will next take on countryman Chris Guccione in the second round. In their only previous meeting Guccione won in two tie-breaks in the second of Sydney in January 2008.

February 13

Former Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion Lleyton Hewitt has been recalled to the Australian team for next month's Davis Cup Asia-Oceania match against Thailand in Bangkok.

Hewitt, who missed Australia's loss to Chile in a World Group playoff last year while he was recovering from a hip operation, was included in the squad Wednesday for the March 6-8 match along with Chris Guccione, Carsten Ball and 19-year-old Bryden Klein.

Hewitt, who will turn 28 next week, has a 32-8 record in Davis Cup and has helped Australia win titles in 1999 and 2003 and reach the finals in 2000 and 2001.

Australia, with 28 Davis Cup titles, was relegated from the elite World Group in 2007 and needs to win the Asia-Oceania group competition to qualify for a World Group playoff in September.

Australia beat Thailand 5-0 in Townsville, northern Australia, last year.

February 12

FAMILIAR storyline, familiar result. That was the theme of another frustrating chapter in Lleyton Hewitt's return to the ATP World Tour yesterday.

The former world No. 1 was left to reconcile a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 loss to American fifth seed Mardy Fish at the SAP Open in San Jose.

Hewitt capitalised on only one of 11 break point opportunities - including seven in the first set - paving the way for Fish to escape into the second round.

There was better fortune for Hewitt's Davis Cup teammate Chris Guccione, who downed former top-10 representative Guillermo Canas 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 in 93 minutes. But Hewitt's defeat to Fish will cut deep.

The South Australian flogged the American on one leg at the French Open last year. But he couldn't put away the attacking right-hander on the slick Californian hardcourt.

Out-aced 19 to seven, Hewitt was the superior returner but he came up short as the match wore on. It is the second successive first-round loss for Hewitt, who was nailed in Melbourne Park by Chilean Fernando Gonzalez.

February 11

LLEYTON Hewitt had a straight sets victory over tennis legend Pete Sampras in an exhibition match at the ATP tournament in Memphis, Tennessee.

Hewitt, who will take on James Blake in the tournament proper in the first round on Wednesday, overcame the 14-time grand slam winner 7-5 6-4.

It was the first time the two former world No.1s had met since the Australian triumphed in straight sets in Indian Wells in 2002, Sampras' last full season on tour.

"It's always fun to play a great champion like Pete,'' Hewitt said. "I thoroughly enjoyed competing against him once again tonight''.

Sampras has recently played exhibition matches against James Blake and Roger Federer and showed against Hewitt he still possesses a strong serve, broken just twice by the Australian.

Hewitt, who defeated Sampras in straight sets to win his first grand slam title at the US Open in 2001, is trying to work his way back after hip surgery last year.

If Hewitt can get past Blake, fellow Australian Chris Guccione will be next up after the main draw also got underway on Monday.

January 30

FORMER world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt has revealed the extent of an injury that threatened to end his career, saying he had bone shaved off his left hip joint to avoid retirement.

"I had to have some bone taken off my hip joint," Hewitt said. "And I also had a couple of tears and cysts in there as well. So it was a pretty decent clean up in the end."

Hewitt will return to competition in San Jose, California, on February 9 for the first time since his first-round defeat at the Australian Open. "I obviously got a rough draw in Melbourne last week and lost to Fernando Gonzalez in a tight five-setter," he said.

"But the biggest bonus and positive for me is I didn't feel the hip at all during the match. "And I pulled up 100 per cent and I would have been able to play two days later easily if I had gotten through that match.

"So there are a lot of positives to go on coming out of the first month of the season for me, and I'm hoping to build on it especially in San Jose and Memphis in the next couple of weeks. In terms of my comeback now, the hip's been going pretty well."

Hewitt is now expected to tumble out of the top 100 for the first time in a decade. Much of his decline is directly attributable to the hip injury, which flared after a practice session in Las Vegas last year.

"I was in Las Vegas training a couple of days before the tournament started in February last year," he said. "I went for a move in a practice session with Nicolas Kiefer. I felt something straight away.

"I kept trying to play with it. "I got through some tough matches and then the days after those matches it just wouldn't pull up whatsoever, and, yeah, I really wanted to get through Wimbledon though.

"So I went through the French Open and Wimbledon and played there.

"Basically after that I made the round of 16 at Wimbledon against (Roger) Federer and was well under 100 per cent going into that match.

"And after that, my whole leg basically shut down because it was compensating so much." Hewitt has scheduled several more tournaments in 2009 than usual as he attempts to reclaim a top-10 ranking by season's end.

January 29

After a lifetime based in Australia, Lleyton Hewitt may be planning a possible move to the US in hopes of extending his tennis career.

Hewitt, 27, wife Bec Cartwright and the couple’s two children could be set for a shift of continent within months, according to Melbourne’s Herald Sun - all part of a strategy to dispel any notion that the former number one might soon retire after his ranking dropped out of the Top 100. Hewitt crashed out in the Australian Open first round.

“We’re trying to cut down on the amount of travel Lleyton has,” manager David Drysdale Drysdale confirmed to the newspaper. “With Lleyton coming back from a hip injury and committed to a full schedule, it makes sense if he can spend less time travelling.

“He’s such a family-oriented person and that’s why he’s always come back to Australia in between tournaments. If he had an overseas base, he could come home for a couple of days between tournaments to spend time with his family.”

Hewitt has always refused to leave Australia, returning first to Adelaide and later to Sydney at every opportunity. He also has skipped the autumn European indoor ATP season for years and has made limited appearances on clay in the spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

If he set up shop in the US, Hewitt would be following the trail blazed by other Australian former players, including Pat Rafter in Bermuda and Mark Philippoussis, Darren Cahill, John Fitzgerald and Todd Woodbridge in the US.

Hewitt could combine house-hunting with his February schedule, which should take him to San Jose, Memphis, Indian Wells and Houston.

January 21

RETIREMENT is not an option and Lleyton Hewitt still believes he can get back into the world's top 10 after crashing out in the first round of the Australian Open. The former world No.1's response when asked if this was his last Australian grand slam was an unequivocal "no".

The last time Hewitt suffered a defeat in the first round of the Australian Open was in 2002. Back then as No.1 seed he was still suffering the after-effects of chicken pox and while he recovered from that loss to go on to win the Wimbledon that year, the same is not expected of the now 27-year-old this time.

Five months on from hip surgery, he showed promise but lost in five sets to Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, the 2007 Australian Open runner-up. Hewitt also lost narrowly to world No.11 David Nalbandian at the quarter-finals of the Sydney International last week and he believes those performances mean he is in reach of the top 10.

The world No.70 last night said he "could have" won both of those matches "easily". [I'm] right there," Hewitt said. "The guys that I've lost to, especially the last two weeks, yeah, they're both top-15 [players] at the moment. But when they're at their best, you know, Nalbandian is possibly [a] top-five, top-seven player and Gonzalez is a top-10 player. The two losses haven't been the worst losses on paper.

"I probably could have easily won both those matches, as well. In the next couple of days, I'll get to assess how it went, how the body's pulled up. I'll probably go through it with 'Rochey' [coach Tony Roche] and see what maybe I could have done a little bit better."

Gonzalez, who also ended Hewitt's Australian Open dream in 2007, defeated the Australian 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. The 13th seed believes Hewitt could mix it in the top 10 again. "If he's mentally prepared I think he can do it," Gonzalez said.

Last year Hewitt, laid low with a hip injury, finished outside the top 25 for the first time on the tour in since his rookie year in 1998. The injury was so severe he could not walk after a match at the Beijing Olympics. He had surgery shortly after and at no point had he considered retirement.

January 20

LLEYTON Hewitt's manager believes that the former world No. 1 would probably retire from tennis if he was unable to improve his ranking from its current, unflattering position of 70.

And while the Hewitt camp is confident that, given a reasonable run with injury, he can return to the top 10, his manager David Drysdale also revealed that Hewitt briefly contemplated retirement before undergoing surgery to repair a hip problem last August. He said Hewitt had faced a simple choice — surgery, "or give it away".

"We didn't know whether the surgery was going to fix it," Drysdale told The Age, in a free-ranging interview last week.

"You know, we hoped it would. Basically, he was left with surgery or give it away — and they were the two options he had, and he had to make a decision as to whether he wanted to give it away."

Asked whether Hewitt would keep playing in the event that he was unable to lift his ranking from its present range, Drysdale said: "I don't think so. That's me, getting his make-up … If he can't get out there and give it the best that he can possibly give — and know what he can give — I don't think he'd hang around.

"He's the sort of guy that might turn around and just say 'right, well, I'm finished'. There'll be no farewell tour, there'll be none of that sort of palaver that goes on. It'll be 'right, that's it', and (he'll) walk away."

Drysdale confirmed that before the operation Hewitt had considered the retirement question. "Of course. Yeah," he said.

Hewitt, whose operation was successful, was encouraged to keep playing because "he knows that if he can fix his body, he can get back (up) there".

"You didn't want him to walk away and think 'what if', but then again, it was his decision … and at the moment it looks like it was the right decision."

Drysdale was confident that Hewitt could return to the top 10 — one of his goals for 2009 — provided his body stood up.

"The idea is to keep his body healthy, and then if we can give him a full season this year, then the way he hits the ball and the way he competes, then there's no reason why he can't make top 10, top 15 by the end of the year."

Hewitt, whose drop in the rankings — caused primarily by his lay-off and lack of matches (31 in 2008) — has forced him into a difficult first-round assignment today against 2007 Australian Open finalist Fernando Gonzales, has been in discussions with Tennis Australia about an off-court role encouraging people to play the sport.

"He's passionate about he wants us to do more to get more people to play," said Drysdale.

"We've been talking to Tennis Australia quite regularly about it, and (Open tournament director and Tennis Australia official) Craig Tiley.

"We're trying to work with them on something … to get Lleyton to be the face of getting people to play the sport.

"It's all very in infancy at the moment; he wants to put something back, to get kids to play the game."

Tiley, who has a strong relationship with Hewitt, said: "We hope in the coming months we'll be able to have something final with Lleyton's involvement, to have his expertise contribute towards our future.

"Lleyton wants nothing more than for Australia to be a championship nation in the sport."

Hewitt has been frustrated by a lack of support in the playing ranks — he is the only Australian ranked in the top 100. "I think that's a legitimate frustration, but we hope to help him by developing the youth," Tiley said.

Drysdale said Hewitt would not be 100 per cent for "another couple of months" and that he should be in top condition by Wimbledon.

"Every time he steps on the court he wants to win, there's no doubt about that, but we've just got to be realistic that five months off is a long time," he said.

"I think it's fair to say we shouldn't have high expectations for the Australian Open. It's more about getting him through; every match he plays, if he gets past that match, that's one extra step he takes. And maybe we should be looking more at Wimbledon and the US Open.

"I think if he stays fit, Wimbledon is a place he'd really like to do well. There's fewer players there that know how to play on (grass). He feels great on that, physically, he should be right by about Wimbledon. I wouldn't throw him out of the mix for the French Open; he played well on the clay there last year."

But Hewitt's French Open preparations could be compromised by his strong commitment to the Davis Cup, with a zonal tie — against either India or Taiwan — clashing with some of the European claycourt season.

"He probably would have been looking to play a couple of tournaments leading into the French," Drysdale said.

"But now he'd have to come back and play Davis Cup in India maybe on grass, or hardcourt, or whatever it is that they play on, or back to Australia and play on hardcourt, then he's got to go back and get ready for the French.

"So if he put himself first, (he) wouldn't play. But because it's for Australia, he goes 'no way, I'm coming back to play'. I think sometimes he doesn't get enough credit for the fact that he puts the country first before himself."

Drysdale said Hewitt had made excellent progress in his return this summer and was planning a much busier playing schedule in 2009.

"He'll have a much, much more intensive year this year. He's playing a number of tournaments in the States. We always base everything around grand slams and Davis Cup — they come first — and then the perfect lead-ups to the grand slams and, to be honest, he'd be better off not playing Davis Cup this year."

Drysdale said how long Hewitt intended to play, "whether that's two years, three years, four years, I think the body's going to determine that more than Lleyton's desire".

January 19

Lleyton Hewitt will plummet outside the world's top 100 following his 5-7 6-2 6-2 3-6 6-3 loss to big-hitting Fernando Gonzalez.

Should Guccione or Klein fail to pull off a series of upsets this week, Australia will be without a man in the top 100 for the first time ever.

Hewitt, though, is refusing to give up on his Open dreams despite tumbling to a decade-low ranking after watching helplessly as Gonzalez clubbed 67 winners to eliminate him in three hours and seven minutes at Rod Laver Laver Arena.

The gallant loss was Hewitt's first first-round exit at Melbourne Park since being struck down with chickenpox as the tournament's top seed back in 2002 and snapped the South Australian's streak of seven successive five-set triumphs at his home grand slam.

All things considered, though, it was another mighty effort from Hewitt, who only returned to the courts last month after a five-month layoff following career-saving hip surgery.

The drama-charged fifth set could have gone either way as the two players traded service breaks in the fourth and fifth games.

Leading 3-2, but having just dropped serve, a tiring Gonzalez took a medical timeout to have both legs massaged.

The break didn't help Hewitt, who immediately double-faulted on the resumption of play, then dumped a forehand into the net before the South American nailed a scorching crosscourt forehand pass to grab another break and a match-winning 4-2 lead.

Hewitt lamented squandering three break-point opportunities at 1-1 in the decider.

"I felt at that stage I was starting to get back on top," Hewitt said.

"Early in that fifth set, it would have been nice to go up an early break ... it could have been a little bit different."

Ultimately, Hewitt's wretched draw put paid to the unseeded former grand slam champion's hopes of venturing deep into the draw.

But the 27-year-old has already planned a hectic schedule comprising of tournaments in San Jose, starting in two weeks, then Memphis, Houston, Indian Wells and Miami as he sets about regaining his place in the world's top 20.

"I'm right there," Hewitt said.

"The guys that I've lost to, especially the last two weeks, they're both top 15 at the moment.

"But when they're at their best, (David) Nalbandian is possibly a top-five, top-seven player and Gonzalez is a top-10 player.

"The two losses haven't been the worst losses on paper. I probably could have easily won both those matches."

Hewitt, eyeing another tilt at Open glory in 2009, rejected reports that he considered retiring after the Beijing Olympics, when his nagging hip injury ended his season.

"As soon as I flew back from Beijing, I landed that morning, then that afternoon I was under the knife. If I was going to retire, then I wouldn't have had the surgery done," he said.

"It wasn't something that was going to affect me in everyday life for the rest of my life.

"It was something that, if I want to still play tennis, then it had to be done."

January 16

Former Australian Open finalists Lleyton Hewitt and Fernando Gonzalez face the battle of their Australian Open careers to determine who will contest the second round of the 2009 tournament.

In what Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley has described as “the pick of the tournament first round match-ups”, 2007 finalist Gonzalez, who won two titles in 2008, takes on 2005 finalist Hewitt, returning to Grand Slam competition following hip surgery in August.

'Gonzo' holds a 3-2 head-to-head advantage over the Australian, who was one of his victims en route to his runner-up finish two years ago.

January 15

Lleyton Hewitt has declared himself ready for the grind of an Australian Open campaign after a gritty defeat by David Nalbandian at the Sydney International. The former world No.1 was in the match up to eyeballs, a few crucial errors the difference in the 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 quarter-final loss.

But after a solid three-match workout in Sydney and two singles wins from three at the Hopman Cup, the two-time grand slam champion was quietly impressed with where he was at. "I'm as ready as I think I thought I'd ever be coming into this situation," said Hewitt, who'd spent five months out of the game with a hip injury.

"I never really knew what to expect, especially before the Hopman Cup going in there after having so many months out. "This is where it starts now - next week." Hewitt showed his usual tenacity in a tight first set, having his serve broken twice and eventually holding a set point himself.

But Nalbandian's polished all-court game gave him the edge in the tiebreak before the former Wimbledon finalist broke early in the second set. While Hewitt dug deep to break the Argentine to love when he served for the match, Nalbandian sealed the result three games later.

Hewitt's next challenge is out of his hands - getting a decent Australian Open draw when it is announced on Friday. For the first time since the 2000 Australian Open, Hewitt will be unseeded in a grand slam he's competing in.

It leaves him open to drawing the best players in the world from the first round. "I can't do much about it can I," Hewitt said when quizzed about going into the draw unseeded. "We'll see what happens. "It's in the hands of the gods - whoever comes up I'll be ready on Monday or Tuesday."

January 14

Four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt has produced his best display of the summer to scorch into the quarterfinals of the Medibank International Sydney with a straight-sets win over Janko Tipsarevic.

Hewitt recovered from an early setback before romping to a 7-5 6-4 victory over the shot-making Serb in oppressive heat at Sydney Olympic Park.

He will next play old enemy David Nalbandian in the quarterfinals.

Playing in Sydney for the first time since demolishing Hewitt in a grasscourt Davis Cup encounter three-and-a-half years ago, the fourth-seeded Nalbandian breezed past Frenchman Michael Llodra 6-1 6-3.

Big-name seeds Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also safely progressed to the last eight with routine wins on Wednesday.

None of them, though, could have been as satisfied as Hewitt, who followed up his scrappy first-round win on Tuesday over Julien Benneteau with a polished performance at Ken Rosewall Arena.

After dropping his opening service game with a double-fault, the Australian rebounded to win 13 of the last 19 games to bury Tipsarevic and book a showdown on Thursday with Nalbandian, his long-time Argentine sparring partner.

The top-seeded Djokovic claimed a straightforward 6-1 6-2 win over Paul-Henri Mathieu, whose French countryman Tsonga brushed aside Italian Simone Bolelli 6-4 6-1.

Tsonga’s victory may have looked comfortable but last year’s Australian Open finalist was troubled by a back complaint, the third seed twice receiving treatment for the injury.

The world No.6 later played down injury concerns, sighting stiffness as the reason for his medical timeouts.

January 13

FOUR-TIME champion Lleyton Hewitt has scrapped his way into the second round of the Sydney International with a tough three-set victory over unheralded Frenchman Julien Benneteau. Playing in plus-40 degree temperatures in Ken Rosewall Arena, Hewitt's game never really matched the scorching heat as he battled to an unconvincing 5-7 6-2 6-4 win over of the world No.48.

Hewitt will meet Janko Tipsarevic on Wednesday for a place in the quarter-finals for the seventh time in a row in Sydney after the Serb ousted American eighth seed Mardy Fish 6-4 3-6 6-4. Australia's former world No.1 will need to step it up against Tipsarevic, a talented shotmaker who stretched Roger Federer over five sets at last year's Australian Open.

Contesting his first ATP match since undergoing hip surgery last August, Hewitt looked a shadow of the player who once reeled off 20 straight wins at Sydney Olympic Park. He struggled from the outset, double-faulting to gift Benneteau a service break and a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

He broke back three games later with a lovely forehand pass only to concede the set with successive forehand errors while serving at 5-6. The dogged baseliner rebounded quickly to break the Frenchman to love in the opening game of the second set.

Hewitt grabbed a double break for a 4-1 advantage before levelling the match at a set apiece with another crisp forehand crosscourt pass. But even after breaking Benneteau in the first game of the deciding set and then holding for 2-0, Hewitt continued to make hard work of it. He dropped serve with a netted backhand to hand the Frenchman a lifeline and then had to fend off further break points in the eighth game.

Hewitt hung tough, though, and eventually prevailed after two hours and five minutes.

January 9

AUSTRALIA's Lleyton Hewitt is satisfied with what he got out of his Hyundai Hopman Cup campaign and with the knowledge his hip has pulled up well.

On coming to Perth, Hewitt had not played since the Beijing Olympics, but showed little ill-effects of his surgery as he spent 12 hours on court during his men's and mixed doubles matches with Casey Dellacqua.

Hewitt began his week with a 2hr 42mins 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Germany's Nicolas Kiefer on Monday and backed that up on Tuesday night with a 2hr 59mins 7-6, 6-7, 6-4 victory over Slovak Republic's Dominik Hrbaty.

That, combined with two mixed doubles rubbers that were decided in the third-set Match Tie-break, meant Hewitt had much more of a workout than he could have imagined on his return.

That tiredness and an ear infection meant Hewitt fell in an hour to James Blake on Thursday, but by then the former world No. 1 had been pleased with what he got out of the week.

"It's been a good week for me after coming here not really knowing how my body would hold up. It would have been nice to make the final, but we were obviously awfully close in every match and could have won all three. It was perfect preparation going into Sydney next week, and then Melbourne," Hewitt said.

"I wasn’t at my best against Blake, but the two matches against Kiefer and Hrbaty gave me an idea of physically where I was at, and that I could hold up to match play and bouncing back day after day. The hip actually felt the best it has in my third match."

When Hewitt agreed to team with Perth's Dellacqua for the Cup, he could have never thought it would be as a comeback from nearly half a year off, but now he's happy to make his return in big matches against three outstanding opponents.

"I feel really good. Obviously the first six months of this year is sort of a building process. When you've been out for five months you can't expect to come out straight away and play your best tennis," he said.

"Playing against these big, best guys in the world this week has been perfect preparation for me. I didn’t know I was going to be out for five months when I agreed to play here, but it has worked out well."

Now that Hewitt is feeling healthy, he is confident rising back near to the top of the game and challenging the seemingly invincible top-four of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

"When you've won the Grand Slams and been No. 1, the smaller tournaments take a back seat a little bit. For me I work my schedule out around the Grand Slams and Davis Cup, and then backwards from there so I can peak at each one of those. Hopefully my body can hold up through the first four or five months and I can see where I'm at," he said.

"If you do well in the Grand Slams, your ranking takes care of itself, so I'm not too worried about that. Purely because I feel like I'm a hell of a lot better player than where my ranking's at. When I look at the Aussie Open, I'm a dangerous floater, and I don’t think a lot of the top guys will want to meet me in the first or second round."

January 8

LLEYTON Hewitt was hit by a mysterious ear complaint that affected his balance during his heavy loss to American James Blake at the Hopman Cup yesterday.

An out-of-sorts Hewitt was blown away 6-2 6-2 in an hour and Australia, which failed to win a tie in the mixed teams tournament, was defeated 2-1 by the US.

But the Hewitt-Casey Dellacqua combination could have easily earned a spot in tonight's final, with all three of their ties decided by a match tiebreak in the mixed-doubles rubber.

Dellacqua won her first match of the tournament yesterday against Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3 6-4, and Australia lost the mixed doubles 6-3 5-7 7-6 (10-6).

Hewitt, whose comeback from hip surgery in August began brightly with two trademark fighting wins this week, put yesterday's loss down to his ear problem.

"My whole balance and routine was sort of knocked out of whack today," Hewitt said.

"I felt like I was tripping over my feet out there for a while, so it wasn't the best situation to be in. I'm not really sure what it is. I couldn't hear a lot out there.

"It's strange. This morning I woke up with it.

"I spoke to a doctor obviously on court and afterwards. It's probably more just a day or so thing, a couple of days maybe, so hopefully by Sydney (next week) it will be sweet."

Hewitt said his tough workouts in Perth have him primed for a successful summer.

"The hip actually felt really good today, probably the best it's felt," he said.

"I feel like I'm a hell of a lot better player than where my ranking (70) is at, so when I look at the Aussie Open I'll be a dangerous floater and I don't think a lot of the top guys would like to meet me in the first or second round."

Blake acknowledged Hewitt was below his best.

"I think we all saw that wasn't the Lleyton Hewitt we've come to know," Blake said.

"It takes a lot to stay out there the way he did today, I think a lot of other players would have just stopped and called it a day, but he's a great fighter out there as we all know."

With Shaughnessy restricted by a knee injury, Dellacqua took advantage to post her first win at her home-town event.

January 6

The Australian team of Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua is out of contention for Friday night's Hopman Cup final in Perth after losing 2 rubbers to 1 to the Slovak Republic.

The Slovak Republic clinched the tie with victory in an enthralling mixed doubles which ended in the early hours of the morning on Wednesday.

Australia had previously been defeated by Germany.

Earlier, Dellacqua lost her singles match in straight sets 7-5, 6-2 to Dominika Cibulkova before Hewitt levelled the tie with a typically tenacious 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (7-1), 6-4 win over Dominic Hrbaty.

Having beaten world number 10 James Blake the previous evening, the 31-year-old Hrbaty refused to lie down against Hewitt, who was chasing his second successive win as he comes back from the hip surgery that had sidelined him since August.

Hewitt served for the match at 5-2 in the second set, but Hrbaty managed to break back and then produced flawless tennis in the tie-break to level the match.

The Australian again went up a break in the decider, only for Hrbaty to break back, before Hewitt achieved the critical break in the ninth game and then was able to serve the match out.

Hewitt says he is very happy with his form after a long injury lay-off.

"This is what you need going into the Australian Open and I had my chance to close it out in the second set there today," he said.

"But Dominic's a hell of a fighter as well we've had some really tough matches in the past."

The Slovak Republic are now on the verge of their fourth appearance in the Hopman Cup final.

The Slovaks, winners of the mixed teams tournament in 1998 and 2005, were seeded seventh in the eight-nation event, also beat top seeds USA on Monday.

Victory over Germany on Thursday will guarantee Cibulkova and Hrbaty a place in Friday's final

January 5

Lleyton Hewitt returned from a five-month injury layoff to beat Nicolas Keifer 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-2 Monday and keep Australia alive in its Hopman Cup match against Germany.

In the opening women's singles, Sabine Lisicki defeated Casey Dellacqua, coming from a service break down in the deciding set to win 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 and give Germany a 1-0 lead.

Hewitt and Dellacqua played Keifer and Lisicki in mixed doubles later Monday to determine the winner of the Group A match.

"It's great to be back," said Hewitt, whose last match was a second-round loss to Rafael Nadal at the Beijing Olympics in August. Hewitt was sidelined by a chronic hip injury after Beijing and later underwent surgery.

Hewitt said he had trouble early Monday getting his rhythm.

"He's (Keifer) a great all-court player, and it was hard to get a read," Hewitt said. "It was a matter of me hanging in there and weathering the storm."

Dellacqua, playing her first match since being sidelined last September by a shoulder injury, served for the match at 5-4 in the third but lost 12 of the last 13 points and had 33 unforced errors overall.

The defending champion United States, led by Meghann Shaughnessy and James Blake, played Slovakia in a Monday night match.

On Sunday, the brother and sister combination of Marat Safin and Dinara Safina won their singles matches to give Russia a 2-1 win over Italy. France, which beat Taiwan on Saturday, plays Italy on Tuesday while Australia takes on Slovakia.

The U.S, Australia, Germany and Slovakia are playing in Group A while Russia, France, Italy and Taiwan are in Group B. The winners of each group play in the final on Friday.

January 2

Former world No1 Lleyton Hewitt landed in Perth this morning ready to play in the Hopman Cup tennis tournament, which begins tomorrow. Hewitt arrived in WA alone and went straight to his hotel at Burswood.

The 27 year-old is on the comeback trail after hip surgery in August and is currently ranked No 67 in the world. The former Wimbledon and US Open champion will return to action against Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer at the Burswood Dome on Monday.

“There will be a lot of interest in Lleyton’s first match,” Hopman Cup director Paul McNamee said. Hewitt will team up with Perth’s Casey Dellacqua as Australia take on seven other countries. The Aussies are seeded fourth in the mixed teams event, which runs until next Friday, with No.3 seeds France tipped by many to take the title.

Top seeds are the American pairing of James Blake and Meghann Shaughnessy, who was called up following the withdrawal of three-time Australian Open champion Serena Williams.The other countries competing include second seeds Russia, Italy (No.5), Slovak Republic (No.7) and Chinese Taipei (No.8).
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Lleyton Hewitt says he won't alter his game plan despite calls from Pat Rafter and John Newcombe for the former world No.1 to become more adventurous. Hewitt, who has been sidelined since August due to a troublesome hip injury that required career-saving surgery, will make his playing return at Perth's Hopman Cup ahead of his 13th Australian Open later this month.

Newcombe and Rafter have joined forces to urge Hewitt, who has slipped to 67 in the world rankings, to replace his defensive game with a more attacking approach. But the pleas have fallen on deaf ears, with the two-time grand slam winner adamant he still has the weaponry capable of upsetting the world's best players without altering his game.

"I know I've done everything in my power to get back to as close as 100 per cent as I can and I still feel like I'm good enough to knock off anyone on any given day," Hewitt said on Friday.

"Even this year (2008) in the slams, it's taken the top four or five guys to beat me. "I don't lose to too many average players in the big tournaments over five sets.

"Against Roger (Federer) at Wimbledon last year, I had chances, especially in the first set. "I had him under all sorts of pressure there and that's on his best surface, in his backyard basically.

"I really wasn't anywhere close to 100 per cent right in that tournament. "I feel against the best guys I can match up pretty well, even against Rafa (Rafael Nadal) I match up well.

"I've had a good record against him, especially on hardcourts in the last few years. "Once I get into that routine of being injury-free and being able to compete against the best guys week in, week out, then I don't see any reason why I can't get back into the top 10."

But Newcombe fears Hewitt could be cast into the tennis wilderness if he doesn't adapt to the modern game. "We all know when he goes out there and starts hitting short balls and relies in defence, he can't cut it out there," Newcombe said.

"He has got to take it to his opponents, go for his shots and play a variety of game and that's what he's doing in training with Rochey (coach Tony Roche). "If he can apply that in his matches, (then) in 12 months' time he'll be back in the top 10."

Dual US Open winner Rafter agreed that at 27, Hewitt needed to tweak his game. "The game's changed on Lleyton," Rafter said. "He can't play the same way he was playing seven or eight years ago. "It doesn't cut it out there anymore."

Hewitt revealed it could take up to six more months for him to regain full strength in his hip. But despite his lengthy absence from the game, he said he would aim for nothing less than the title at Melbourne Park.

"(I'm) wanting to win," Hewitt said. "I'm the ultimate competitor."