MELBOURNE – Lleyton Hewitt is far from discouraged from his latest Australian Open heartbreak and is looking forward to playing a full calendar of tournaments on this year’s men’s tour.
The never-say-die Australian went down typically with all guns blazing in a 4hr 48min epic five-setter against fierce rival David Nalbandian in a disappointing first-round exit from his record 15th straight Australian Open.
Hewitt, outside the 32 tournament seedings, played some of his best tennis to work his way to two match points, but could not convert as 27th seed Nalbandian powered home, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/1), 9-7. It was another crushing blow in Hewitt’s crusade to win his home Grand Slam after getting to the 2005 final, where he was overcome by Russian Marat Safin’s booming forehands. It was Hewitt’s fifth winless visit to the Open and he has been on the end of some difficult draws, bowing out to Roger Federer twice in the fourth round and Fernando Gonzalez in the early rounds. Hewitt’s ranking is expected to slip from a pre-tournament 54 to around 70 as he failed to protect his ranking points for a fourth-round loss to Federer here last year. But despite the struggle to keep up with the younger tennis breed and fighting off injuries from his attritional playing style, Hewitt is looking ahead to the rest of the season.
