Hopman Cup 2009 photos and articles

Lleyton Hewitt put more than four months of frustrating rehab behind him as he made a successful return to the court with a tough three sets victory over Germany's Nicolas Kiefer at the Hopman Cup. Hewitt, who underwent career-saving surgery on his hip last August, came from a set down to defeat Kiefer 6-7 (8-6) 6-3 6-2, keeping Australia in the tie after world No.56 Sabine Lisicki beat Casey Dellacqua 4-6 6-2 7-5 in the women's singles rubber. But Australia's hopes of winning a second Hopman Cup title was left in tatters when Germany won the mixed doubles 6-7 (7-2) 6-3 7-6 (10-5 in the match tiebreak) to take the tie.

The loss means Australia must win their last two ties against the Slovak Republic and US - plus rely on other results to go their way - to reach Friday's final. Hewitt, who has slipped to 70 in the world rankings, displayed his trademark doggedness throughout his singles contest as he ground down Kiefer, who has now lost all four encounters against the South Australian.

"It's good to be back," Hewitt said after the match, which lasted almost three hours. "It's been a long time out, close to five months since I've played a match. "I've been hanging for this match for a long time ... it's a great way to start the year.

"It takes a lot of courage to come back from surgery and to come back and lose the first set in a tiebreak and then win the second and third convincingly - it's a good start."

Hewitt converted seven of 11 break point chances and said he felt no ill effects from the hip injury that sidelined him after the Beijing Olympics.

"I've done everything in my power to get as close to 100 per cent for the Australian summer and it's a matter of just trying to come out here now and ... get in that routine of playing a lot of tough matches going into the Australian Open, where it's obviously going to be tough playing five sets back to back."

Dellacqua, playing her first match since being grounded last September by a shoulder injury, served for the match at 5-4 in the third. But the 23-year-old, who failed to serve an ace and committed 33 unforced errors, lost 12 of the last 13 points of the contest to drop the match.

"It's actually feeling really good," Dellacqua said of her shoulder after the match. "That's the one (positive) thing for me coming out of a three-set match like that - the shoulder is holding up really well and it's great news for me."

AUSTRALIA'S quest for a second Hopman Cup title have been dashed after a marathon 2-1 loss to the Slovak Republic. Lleyton Hewitt continued his winning ways with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-1) 6-4 triumph over Dominik Hrbaty but Casey Dellacqua lost her second match in as many days when world No.19 Dominika Cibulkova cruised to a 7-5 6-2 win in 84 minutes.

Australia, who lost to Germany 2-1 on Monday, needed to defeat the Slovak Republic in the mixed doubles to win the tie and stay in the hunt for Friday's final. But a weary Hewitt and a luckless Dellacqua couldn't muster the win, with Hrbaty and Cibulkova running out 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 7-6 (10-4 in match tiebreak) winners in a match that didn't finish until 1.35am local time (3.30am EDT) on Wednesday morning.

Slovak Republic can guarantee a spot in Friday's final if they can defeat Germany in their final group A encounter.

In the 21-year history of the Hopman Cup Australia have only snared the title once – in 1999 when Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic beat Swedish pair Jonas Bjorkman and Asa Carlsson

After taking two hours and 42 minutes to dispose of German Nicolas Kiefer on Monday, Hewitt, playing just his second singles match since undergoing career-saving surgery on his hip last year, needed almost three hours to defeat Hrbaty. But it could have been a far easier night for the former world No.1 had he converted his serve when he led 5-3 in the second set.

Hrbaty broke back and dominated the tiebreak to send it into a third set, where Hewitt got the decisive break in the ninth game to set up the win. "This is what you need going into the Australian Open," Hewitt said after his tough win over Hrbaty.

"I had the chance to close it out in the second set there but Dominik is a hell of a fighter as well. "We've had some really tough matches in the past and when he's down he normally plays his best tennis.

"That was exactly what he did out there tonight, when he was 5-2 down in the second set he played his best tennis to get out of that second set and it turned into a real dogfight in the end. "This is obviously what tests it (my hip) and being able to back up day after day."

Dellacqua, who made an astonishing 47 unforced errors in her singles encounter, served for the opening set at 5-4 up but lost her nerve when it mattered most. The 23-year-old dropped five straight service games from that point as Cibulkova romped to the win.

Cibulkova, who defeated American Meghann Shaughnessy the day before, showed no mercy against her error-riddled opponent and successfully challenged a call on match point to secure the win. Earlier on Tuesday, Italy defeated France 2-1 in the group B tie.

Alize Cornet disposed of Flavia Pennetta 7-5 6-2 but Simone Bolelli kept Italy in the tie when he upset world No.6 Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3 6-3. Bolelli then combined with Pennetta to win the mixed doubles 6-4 7-6 (7-2).

LLEYTON Hewitt was hit by a mysterious ear complaint that affected his balance during his heavy loss to American James Blake at the Hopman Cup yesterday. An out-of-sorts Hewitt was blown away 6-2 6-2 in an hour and Australia, which failed to win a tie in the mixed teams tournament, was defeated 2-1 by the US.

But the Hewitt-Casey Dellacqua combination could have easily earned a spot in tonight's final, with all three of their ties decided by a match tiebreak in the mixed-doubles rubber. Dellacqua won her first match of the tournament yesterday against Meghann Shaughnessy 6-3 6-4, and Australia lost the mixed doubles 6-3 5-7 7-6 (10-6).

Hewitt, whose comeback from hip surgery in August began brightly with two trademark fighting wins this week, put yesterday's loss down to his ear problem. "My whole balance and routine was sort of knocked out of whack today," Hewitt said.

"I felt like I was tripping over my feet out there for a while, so it wasn't the best situation to be in. I'm not really sure what it is. I couldn't hear a lot out there. "It's strange. This morning I woke up with it.

"I spoke to a doctor obviously on court and afterwards. It's probably more just a day or so thing, a couple of days maybe, so hopefully by Sydney (next week) it will be sweet." Hewitt said his tough workouts in Perth have him primed for a successful summer.

"The hip actually felt really good today, probably the best it's felt," he said. "I feel like I'm a hell of a lot better player than where my ranking (70) is at, so when I look at the Aussie Open I'll be a dangerous floater and I don't think a lot of the top guys would like to meet me in the first or second round."

Blake acknowledged Hewitt was below his best. "I think we all saw that wasn't the Lleyton Hewitt we've come to know," Blake said. "It takes a lot to stay out there the way he did today, I think a lot of other players would have just stopped and called it a day, but he's a great fighter out there as we all know."

With Shaughnessy restricted by a knee injury, Dellacqua took advantage to post her first win at her home-town event.