Hewitt holds off Ebden in all-Aussie clash

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt survived an "awkward" all-Aussie encounter at the BNP Paribas Open Thursday, holding off Matthew Ebden 7-6 (7/2), 3-6, 6-3.

Hewitt, who won back-to-back Indian Wells titles in 2002 and 2003, said all of his clashes with younger compatriots feel awkward now that he`s something of an elder statesman in the sport, closing in on his 600th career match win. "It`s not something I look forward to at all now, playing the other Aussies," Hewitt said. "I`m trying to help these guys out now ... I hit with these guys all the time." In fact, Hewitt had to cancel a planned practice session with Ebden when the two were drawn to face each other in the first round. The victory over the 26-year-old Ebden was number 599 for Hewitt`s career. He`ll get a chance to reach number 600 against 17th-seeded South African Kevin Anderson in the second round, but Hewitt places little stock in the milestone. "It means I`m getting old, that`s all," said the 33-year-old, who would become just the third active ATP player, along with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to notch at least 600 match victories. "Obviously, it means I`ve had a lot of success, but it`s not something I`m focused on at all," he said. Hewitt will likely have to step it up against Anderson to get that victory here. He let a 5-1 first-set lead slip against Ebden, and also served for the match at 5-1 in the third only to drop his serve before finally putting the match away with a love game. "Whenever I was up in sets I didn`t put my foot down," Hewitt said. Hewitt said he`s still feeling the effects of the right shoulder injury that forced him out of a second-round match against compatriot Marinko Matosevic in Delray Beach in February after one set. Hewitt said he had aggravated a shoulder injury the previous week in Memphis, and since Delray Beach had been receiving treatment. "It`s not 100 percent yet," he said. "If it was a smaller tournament, I don`t think I`d be playing."