If at first you don’t succeed, try again. And again and again and again. That’s what Kooyong Classic tournament director Colin Stubs did, asking Lleyton Hewitt if he would play his Australian Open warm-up event. Stubs estimates he approached him around 10 times. Now, finally, Hewitt has said yes.
Following his week at the Hopman Cup partnering Alicia Molik, he will travel straight to Melbourne instead of competing in Sydney. That’s the good news for the tournament, played at the former home of the Australian Open. The bad news is that Roger Federer has, like last year, elected to stay close to his training base in Dubai and play in Doha rather than the Kooyong Classic.
Other players so far confirmed for Kooyong are Tomas Berdych, Mikhail Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils. Stubs is also hopeful of signing up Robin Soderling.
Topics: Alicia Molik, Australian Open, Bad News, Doha, Dubai, Estimates, Fernando Verdasco, Gael Monfils, Hopman Cup, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Lleyton Hewitt, Melbourne, Mikhail Youzhny, Robin Soderling, Roger Federer, Stubs, Sydney, Tomas Berdych, Tournament Director, Wilfried