Lleyton Hewitt returns from injury to a happy hunting ground this week for one last chance to finetune his game ahead of the US Open.
Hewitt takes on Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu on Wednesday in his opening match at the Cincinnati Masters, a tournament where the veteran Australian has enjoyed success over the years.
Hewitt has reached two finals, three semis and one quarter-final from eight appearances in Cincinnati, where he’s only ever lost to fellow former world No.1s Roger Federer, Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, Carlos Moya and Pat Rafter, plus Xavier Malisse and Fabrice Santoro.
The 29-year-old soon-to-be father-of-three is desperate for court time less than a fortnight out from the start of the season’s final major, commencing in New York on August 30.
Hewitt, the 2001 Flushing Meadows champion, has played just one-and-a-half matches since falling to world No.3 Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Wimbledon almost two months ago.
