Melbourne, Nov 27: Lleyton Hewitt has left little to chance as he prepares for what will become the highlight of his season as Australia faces Spain beginning Friday in the Davis Cup final.
With only a dozen tournament appearances in his curriculum for 2003, when the 22-year-old severely eased back the throttle on the ATP, the weekend tie counts for just about everything for the former world No. 1.
Currently riding a number 18 world ranking, Hewitt has spent the last two months focusing almost entirely on the Davis date as he aims to help Australia capture its 28th trophy.
Staying at home in Adelaide and avoiding all tournament play, his form has appeared to be fully polished during training this week on the portable grass court laid over rebound ace at Rod Laver Arena.
''I've been resting and training extremely hard,'' said Hewitt, who has led Australian teams which have lost their last two finals against Spain in 2000 and France here two years ago. ''I've been putting in a lot of hours on the court and in the gym. I've prepared as well as possible.''



As a result of his official inactivity, Hewitt has been surpassed as Australian no. 1 by teammate Mark Philippoussis, who revved up his year through a Wimbledon final and a title in Shanghai in autumn.



But he's not playing the numbers game when it comes to potential Davis Cup glory. ''I don't think it makes any difference at all. I've got the opportunity to crack this tie wide open,'' said Hewitt.



''Everyone says the pressure's on us. But Spain has two guys (Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Moya) in the top 10 who have just played the Masters Cup (in Houston). We'll wait and see what happens.''


Bureau Report