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A weary Lleyton Hewitt admits almost 10 hours of court time has left his hip feeling “stiff” but the former world No.1 says the hectic Hopman Cup schedule is the perfect preparation for the Australian Open.
Since his opening match on Monday, Hewitt has spent nine hours and 16 minutes on court, with his singles wins over Nicolas Kiefer and Dominik Hrbaty each going the distance.
The 27-year-old, who underwent career-saving surgery on his hip last year, was on court until 1.35am local time on Wednesday morning in Australia’s marathon 2-1 tie loss to the Slovak Republic.
Hewitt, playing his first matches since last year’s Beijing Olympics, admitted he was starting to feel a few aches and pains but said the tough three-set matches were just what he needed ahead of the Australian Open.
“I guess it’s just a matter of getting the matches under my belt and getting in a routine and getting your body to understand how you’ve got to bounce back day after day in match situations,” Hewitt said.
“That’s the tough thing.
“Hard courts aren’t the easiest surface for your body.
“Going into the Australian Open you want to get the matches under your belt.
“Obviously against Kiefer and Hrbaty I played two tough singles matches that both went the distance, which is a good thing I think.
“I’ve put in the hard work and to be able to handle that kind of tennis (is pleasing).
“It (my hip) is not too bad, just a little bit stiff I guess”.
Australia tackle the top-seeded US on Thursday but the host nation can’t reach Friday’s final after dropping their opening two ties against Germany and the Slovak Republic.
Hewitt has a 7-1 record against his opponent James Blake (8-1 if you include one walkover) but has not played the American since 2006.
“I haven’t really seen a lot of him in the last year or so,” Hewitt admitted.
“He’s a worthy guy and I’m going to have to play well to beat him.
“He’s going to probably make a lot more errors than Hrbaty but he’s a lot more flashier, so it’s a slightly different match.”
Casey Dellacqua, who dropped her singles matches to Sabine Lisicki and Dominika Cibulkova, meets American Meghann Shaughnessy for the first time.
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