Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt and bad boy Bernard Tomic are off to a great start in 2013 with their preparation for the Australian Open, which starts tomorrow, with both capturing trophies in the first fortnight of play.
Veteran Hewitt defeated Juan Martin del Potro 6-1, 6-4 for the Kooyong Classic crown with his young family watching on. Hewitt is enjoying a great start to what could be his final year on the tour.
Clearly comfortable with his current form, Hewitt appears at ease with yet another difficult first round draw at the Australian Open. The former world 
number one has drawn eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic.
“I don’t care. I’ll knock him off, try to take his spot in the draw.
The last couple matches I’ve hit the ball as well as I can remember when I hit it.
I feel confident with where my game’s at at the moment. There’s still a couple things I got to try to take care of when I’m on the match court.”
Bernard Tomic has managed to back up his recent statements saying he was going to focus on his tennis career rather than get into trouble off court by winning his first ATP tour title.
Tomic took home the Sydney International trophy beating Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-7 , 6-3 but has yet to show he can perform consistently.
In 2011 Tomic had a stellar year, even making the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, but he failed to maintain his focus and keep himself out of trouble during the 2012 season. Tomic also appeared to lack the motivation to continually improve his game once the top players were no longer surprised by his game. At times he was accused of deliberately giving up or not trying during matches.
While Hewitt’s win is far more impressive – not only because of the quality of his opponent but also because of the fact he is at times virtually crippled by his body – it’s an step in the right direction for Tomic. How many more steps he takes in the right direction Bernie takes remains to be seen.
He certainly has a lot of work to do to change a lot of negative opinions about his behaviour, attitude and dedication.
