Aussie ace to hold court
Australian tennis ace, Lleyton Hewitt, will display his prodigious talents at the inaugural CMG Open at Victoria Park starting on Monday.
In January, 17-year-old Hewitt made history by becoming the lowest-ranked singles player, at 550 in the world, to win an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour title in his home town of Adelaide.
On his way to the championship, he beat no fewer than five established stars, including Andre Agassi, and became the youngest player since Hong Kong favourite Michael Chang to win an ATP title. While his five opponents had amassed a total of 1,106 wins between them, the Adelaide tournament was only Hewitt's second Tour event and he had yet to claim a single victory.
The teenager is being tipped as a future No 1 by tennis experts.
The tournament, which ends on October 25, also includes Australia's Mark Woodforde and India's former Wimbledon junior champion Leander Paes.
The CMG Open replaces the now-defunct Marlboro Championships, cancelled due to anti-tobacco legislation which comes into effect next year.
