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6/15/11 2:20 PM | Johan Lindahl
Lleyton Hewitt needs a huge recovery effort from his problem right foot if he's to make a serious start at Wimbledon next week.
The one-time No. 1 was forced to quit his opening match at the final pre-Grand Slam tuneup at Eastbourne.
During a change of ends, the 30-year-old walked over to Belgian opponent Olivier Rochus, shook hands, smiled and walked off court with his bag in front of a stunned crowd. "It's frustrating when you know you've done all the right things. This is one of my favourite times of the year playing these grass court tournaments," said Hewitt.
"So to not be 100 percent and going out there still trying to compete isn't that easy mentally, either. I'm actually quite happy with my ball-striking at the moment, which is frustrating because my movement is such a big part of my game."
Two-time Grand Slam winner Hewitt underwent surgery on his foot in the spring but is far from pain-free several months after the procedure. His ranking has dropped to outside the Top 100, the result of losing in the Halle quarter-finals last week, where he re-damaged the foot.
Hewitt tried to play at Eastbourne with pain-killers. "It was touch and go whether I'd be able to play here anyway. I slipped over last week at the end of the first set against Kohlschreiber (Halle quarter-finals) and stirred up the foot that I had surgery on.
"Since then I've just been trying to get treatment. I've been talking with the doctors here.
"It just hasn't quite improved as much as I would have liked by today, but I wanted to come out and try anyway. I obviously have to focus on Wimbledon now next week."
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Can't believe how many injuries Lleyton had to go through the last couple of years. What a pity.. really. I love his game.
Emiliano55 , 6/15/11 4:53 PM