Former world top-tenner John Alexander has pinpointed what many good judges believe is the real reason behind Australia’s dramatic decline from tennis superpower to Davis Cup minnow.

Following on from his fourth round exit at the Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt had surgery to repair a torn labrum cartilage in his right hip.

Lleyton Hewitt refuses to give up on his grand slam dream despite revealing on Saturday he underwent a second round of career-saving hip surgery this week.

Lleyton Hewitt could only marvel at the brilliance of Roger Federer after the world No.1 handed Australia’s court warrior his worst-ever Australian Open loss on Monday night.

Lleyton Hewitt’s decision to receive, after winning the toss against Roger Federer, was just one of many ill advised choices that led to the Australian’s fourth round exit against the Swiss maestro.

In what is the most anticipated match of this year’s Australian Open so far, tonight Aussie Lleyton Hewitt will face off against the tournament’s number one seed, Roger Federer. Be sure to join The Roar’s live blog from 7:30 (AEDT) as the match unfolds.

It will officially be Australia against the world when the host nation’s best tennis players tackle the best on the planet at the Australian Open today.

The fire still very much burning within, Lleyton Hewitt says he’ll be living the dream when he takes on world No.1 Roger Federer for a place in the Australian Open quarter-finals on Monday.

Tennis icon John Newcombe has pleaded with Lleyton Hewitt not to pussy-foot around with his Australian Open hopes on the line against Marcos Baghdatis on Saturday night.

Another Australian Summer of Tennis, and yet again, viewers have fallen victim to coverage that is not giving the audience the best possible experience.

Eyes wide open, Lleyton Hewitt is awake to the danger his gifted second-round opponent poses at the Australian Open on Thursday.

We often assume media interest is a barometer of a sports’ popularity. If it’s not at the forefront of priorities for newspaper editors and newsroom producers, then it must not be important and entertaining enough to warrant sufficient media and public interest.

Teenager Bernard Tomic will be out to lead the Australian charge into the third round when he takes on Croatia’s Marin Cilic in the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday night.

Still dreaming of lifting the trophy, Lleyton Hewitt powered into the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday night with a ruthless straight-sets win over Brazilian qualifier Ricardo Hocevar.

Bernard Tomic insists he won’t allow his public feud with Lleyton Hewitt to derail his Australian Open campaign.

Australia’s top-tier tennis players will hope to stem the Australian Open bleeding on Tuesday as the host nation recovers from a difficult day one.

His back’s against the wall, just how he likes it, and a defiant Lleyton Hewitt refuses to believe he can’t pull off mission improbable to finally win the Australian Open.

Yet again at the Australian Open, Lleyton Hewitt faces the roadblock that keeps turning him into roadkill.

There was no win and no boost to his ranking, but Lleyton Hewitt remained upbeat after his tilt at a fifth Sydney International title was scuppered by Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday.

If their last match is any indication, it may pay to set your alarm clock. Lleyton Hewitt will play Marcos Baghdatis on Thursday for a place in the Sydney International semi-finals after the Australian powered past Andreas Seppi.