Hewitt, the Ambassador, is Helping Sydney Where he Can

Written by: Staff on 8th January 2012

Hewitt, the Ambassador, is Helping Sydney Where he Can

Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in action against Wu Di of China during the singles match at the Hopman Cup, Perth, Australia, 05 January 2012. EPA/TONY MCDONOUGH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT |

Lleyton Hewitt is serious about his new role as officials ambassador for this week’s Sydney event, with the 30-year-old old playing in and promoting the tournament he has won four times as the former No. 1 begins a subtle shift in career emphasis after well over a decade in the game.

“I’m the ambassador of the tournament so I’ve tried to help out a little bit obviously behind the scenes, just with a few different things. It’s been good,” said the No. 186, whose appointment to the Sydney role could be a marketing masterstroke for officials of an event which continualy comes up short on star power due to its date in the days leading up to the Australian Open.

“The ( Sydney ) tournament’s got a solid base but there’s a lot of room for improvement to become a bigger tournament. Obviously it’s one of the greatest cities across the world (so) hopefully it can go from strength to strength,” said Hewitt.

In view of the impending end of his career over the next few seasons, Hewitt has suddenly become more marketable, brushing up on his broadcast skills as he worked part-time for the second year as an occasional colour announcer in the booth at the Hopman mixed team tournament.

Informal reviews give the two-time grand Slam champion a chance as a more permanent fixture once his tennis days are behind.

The biggest Hewitt question mark will be the state of a big toe which required surgery last spring and has been his bane ever since. He gave little away in Perth , but did manage to play all three of his singles matches while partnering Jarmila Gajdosova in the mixed.

“The focus was to come here and get plenty of court time, test the movement and try to get my ball-striking as close to where I want it going into Melbourne ,” Hewitt said. “The three matches have been perfect for me.”

Topics: Lleyton Hewitt, Sydney