Lleyton Hewitt is putting in the miles for Davis Cup this week, sandwiching a trip to Australia between Masters events in Rome and Madrid. The Australians will take on Japan in a zonal tie in Brisbane, with the winners advancing to the World Group playoffs in September.
''I feel that we have a good chance of getting back to the World Group this year," said Hewitt. "That was the main reason to come back and play, once I knew my body was going to hold up
''It wasn't until a week-and-a-half, two weeks ago that I knew I would be able to compete and hold up for potentially three days of five-set matches
Hewitt did, however, criticize the scheduling of this round of Davis Cup, which also prompted Andy Murray to skip a tie for Britain at this time last year.
''Because if you are expecting to play two Masters series for the ATP, and then come back and play a Davis Cup tie in between that, it takes a lot of effort."
Australia's chances of winning the tie improved when it was announced that Kei Nishikori, who recently returned from a long injury layoff and is Japan's top player, would not be playing.