Former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt is set to return to grand slam tennis for the first time in 18 months at the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old, who hasn’t played a competitive match since the 2016 Wimbledon Championships, will team up with Sam Groth in the doubles tournament. The comeback has been made following a special request from Groth, who will retire from the sport after the tournament next month.
“It’s going to be a bit of fun – that’s what the Australian Open is about,” Hewitt told 7 News.
“For me, going out there in a different way, I’m going to enjoy it.”
Despite the high profile return for his farewell tournament, Groth has insisted that both of them mean business. The two also teamed up at the 2016 Australian Open, where they reached the third round.
“I’m going to really enjoy it. We’ve been hitting a lot of balls, hitting every day, and we’re not just going out there making up the numbers.” He stated.
“We want to give it a fair crack.”
Two years ago Hewitt said an emotional farewell at the Australian Open, losing in the second round to Spain’s David Ferrer. He has played in the Melbourne major 20 consecutive times between 1997-2016, reaching the final in 2005. Overall, Hewitt has won 30 ATP singles titles, including two grand slams. He was also no.1 for 75 weeks between 2001-2003.
It isn’t the first time Hewitt has come out of retirement, which officially began in January 2016. Last year he played in a Davis Cup doubles match with John Peers at against the USA. A few months later, he received a wildcard to play at Wimbledon in the doubles tournament.
Since retirement, Hewitt has become an instrumental figure in Australian tennis after being appointed Davis Cup captain. This year the country reached the semifinals of the tournament before losing 3-2 to Belgium.
The Australian Open will get underway on January 15th.
.@lleytonhewitt is making a shock comeback at next month’s #AustralianOpen. @Stevo7AFL with the exclusive details. @7tennis #7News pic.twitter.com/u8Uk3DUI9u
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) 14 December 2017
