TNT Sports
Hewitt hopes for the best
By
Published 31/12/2004 at 16:46 GMT
Back in the bosom of his family, Lleyton Hewitt is gunning for Australian success. Still licking his wounds after the recent split from fiancee Kim Clijsters, the former world number one has gone back to his roots as he seeks a first Australian Open title
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Next week he plays at the Adelaide hardcourt ATP event, the event at which he burst onto the scene in 1998 by winning this title ranked just 550th in the world.
The 23-year-old hopes a return to Memorial Drive and his hometown tournament will prove just the tonic ahead of the Australian Open.
"It's nice to be back home and chill out and not have the stress of hotels and travelling around where you don't know your way," the world number three said earlier this week.
"To be able to sit back... I enjoy playing here, the weather, this is where it all started as well. I have a lot of mates come out here."
Oblivious to the field at Memorial Drive, the former world number one is just focusing on his own game.
"Actually I wouldn't have a clue who's playing," he said.
"I'm just worrying about my own game. At the end of the day I think I'm playing well enough at the moment to go out there and put everyone under a lot of pressure.
"For me this is about preparing myself as well as possible for Melbourne in three or four weeks' time.
HITTING PEAK
"By January 17 I want to be hitting my peak but I feel Adelaide and Sydney this year is going to give me great preparation for that."
Hewitt knows runaway world number one Roger Federer is the benchmark this season but says he does not fear the Swiss.
"I can definitely beat him, yeah. But it's not going to be easy and I think I know as well as anyone, he's definitely the man to beat out there at the moment," Hewitt said.
"There's no point worrying about him (Federer) right at the moment. He's not playing here in Adelaide or Sydney and I if can get the number two seeding (at the Open) I won't have to worry about him until I play a Sunday night final at the Aussie Open.
"There's plenty of other good players out there you've got to be very wary of, so you don't just want to focus on one particular guy but obviously you're going to have to try and do something different if I do come up against him."
Federer heads the field in Doha at the Qatar Open next week and has no thoughts of relinquishing his grip on the sport.
The Swiss, who won 11 singles titles in 2004 including three of the four grand slams, said: "I want to repeat or better my performances of 2004 in the new season.
"If I perform well at the start of the new season, I will keep my top ranking, something that is very important to me now."
POWERFUL RUSSIAN
World number two Andy Roddick has opted to arrive in Australia at the last minute for the January 17-30 grand slam, and is in the U.S. practising with new coach Dean Goldfine.
Fourth-ranked Marat Safin is repeating the laid back preparation he had last year by competing for Russia at the Hopman Cup team event. The opulent surroundings of Perth's Burswood Dome clearly suited the powerful Russian last year and it took Federer to stop him in the final in Melbourne.
World number five Carlos Moya makes a return to Chennai next week, after winning the Indian event in 2004.
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