Australian Open 2012 live stream

If anyone thinks that tennis has passed Lleyton Hewitt by, think again.

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In an extraordinarily well-played match on Rod Laver Arena, the two-time Grand Slam champion served notice that he’ll be a forced to be reckoned with at Australian Open 2010 when he whizzed past Brazilian Ricardo Hocevar 6 1 6 2 6 3 in the first round.

Hewitt has produced some rousing performances before in Melbourne, specifically in his run to the 2005 final, but isn’t that often that he played as cleanly as he did on Tuesday, clinically dispatching his foe with an airtight attack.

“It's always tough first round of any Slam, probably a little bit more so because I had no idea really how he played either,” Hewitt said.

“Did all the homework we could do before the match, but until you actually get out there, you never really know. He's a grinder. He was gonna hit a lot of balls back, and he served better than I thought he would. But I returned really well, especially at the start.”

In the second stage of his career, former Wimbledon and US Open champion Hewitt has vowed to step up it up a bit in the power department so as to ensure that he doesn’t wrack up any more unnecessary miles on his surgically-repaired hip. He’s attempting to develop a more effective first serve, step further inside the court with his forehand, and to close more points out at the net. Hocevar witnessed all those elements come into play, despite the heavy conditions.

“I’m hitting the ball pretty well,” Hewitt said. “Throughout last year and at Wimbledon, I hit the ball extremely well and made a good run there. I had to knock off del Potro, and a month later he wins the US Open. So my ball striking has been pretty good. Ever since I came back from hip surgery, it's more the confidence in moving and getting into the right position to do it.

 Obviously you're gonna be a step up every round, though. You're gonna play more quality opponents, and you still gotta be able to strike the ball and get in position a lot better than against a guy like tonight.”

Hewitt is playing in his 14th straight Australian Open, a remarkable achievement given how many injuries he’s had over the past five years. He joined two other Aussies, Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde, as well as South African Wayne Ferreira, as the only men to accomplish that in the Open Era. But former No. 1 Hewitt's goals aren’t about longevity. The 28-year-old would love to re-enter the top 10, and with a No. 22 ranking, he certainly has good shot if he can stay out of the trainer’s room and on the court.

While he’s not longer as fast as he was a teenager, he has a world of more experience and is a better shotmaker.

“There's a lot guys that are ahead of me on ranking that I think I can take care of,” Hewitt said.
 
“But a lot depends on the how many tournaments you play and your priorities as well. My priority is not a whole heap based on rankings anymore. My priority is mainly on getting my body ready and mentally and physically being as ready as possible for the four majors.

“That's what I pride myself on. Obviously wanted to come into this tournament this year seeded, though. It's a lot tougher if you're not seeded, like last year coming off hip surgery and drawing a guy like [Fernando] Gonzalez. I did all the right things to do that this year. If you play well in the Slams and the big tournaments, your ranking is gonna take care of itself anyway.”

Hewitt will next play American Donald Young, who won the junior title here a few years back. But his goal is clearly on reaching the second week. He could face 17th seed David Ferrer in the third round, and then could confront a very tall task in the form of No.1 Roger Federer in the round of 16.

“I would love to win it, (but) it's never gonna be easy,” Hewitt said.
 
“Obviously it's a tough tournament to win. Any Grand Slam is tough. You need a little bit of luck. You gotta play well in the right matches.”