Hewitt ducks surgery before Open

Hewitt keeps aways from the surgeon's table

Tennis superstar Lleyton Hewitt has decided to postpone surgery on a mystery ailment so he can take part in this month's Australian Open.

The number seven seed deferred the operation after doctors assured him that his future health was not at risk.

"They can't guarantee I'd be 100% after the surgery... and they don't think I can make it worse (by playing)," said Hewitt.

Doctors have discovered that the 19-year-old has a blocked sinus after suffering from breathing problems in recent months.

However, an operation would put Hewitt out of action for up to a month, forcing him to miss the 15-28 January Australian Open.

Dogged victory

Speaking after his first-round win in Sydney's Adidas International over Wayne Arthurs, Hewitt said that the surgery was "not an option at this stage" as he would have to miss the Open.

I'm definitely not peaking yet but I'm getting better with each match I play

  Lleyton Hewitt

In the meantime, the Australian has stopped playing doubles and is on a mixture of tablets and nasal sprays to help his breathing.

However, Hewitt's ailment seems to have had no effect on his performance as he battled back to beat Arthurs 6-7 7-6 6-2 in a testing first round clash in Sydney.

After both Australians took a set each on tie-breakers, Hewitt surged ahead in the third to take the match.

"I'm definitely not peaking yet but I'm getting better with each match I play and it's going to give me a big lift going into the Australian Open if I can get that winning feeling back."

He meets another Australian, Andrew Ilie for a place in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, Scott Draper, who has struggled for motivation since his wife died 18 months ago, made a rare appearance on court.

Happy to lose

Draper's wife Kellie died from cystic fibrosis in July 1999 and the Australian had not played an ATP Tour event since last July.

Draper was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-4 in the first round by his good friend and compatriot Jason Stoltenberg, but neither player was concerned about the result.

"Personally it was a very tough match for both of us...and I can honestly say, having won the match, I really would have been happy if I lost," Stoltenberg said.

Elsewhere, there were shock defeats for top seeds Wayne Ferreira and Cedric Pioline.

Number three seed Ferreira lost in straight sets 6-3 6-4 to Switzerland's rising star Roger Federer.

Swede Jonas Bjorkman knocked out number four seed Pioline, the Frenchman who reached the final of Wimbledon in 1997.

But it was business as usual for the rest of the seeds.

Tommy Haas is on top form at the moment

Top seed Magnus Norman had no trouble disposing of Romania's Andrei Pavel 6-3 7-5.

French fifth seed Arnaud Clement led Bohdan Ulihrach 6-1 3-0 before his Czech opponent retired injured.

Germany's Tommy Haas continued his excellent start to 2001, overcoming Todd Martin 6-3 6-2.

The number seven seed beat the 1999 Sydney champion just two days after winning Australian men's final of the Australian Hard-Court Championship in Adelaide.

The women's draw produced no major surprises with Monica Seles and Conchita Martinez winning their second matches to reach the quarter-finals.

Credentials

Seles, who won this tournament in 1996, beat Australia's Nicole Pratt 6-4 6-2.

French Open finalist Martinez showed her stamina by beating Australia's Alicia Molik 6-4 6-7 6-3.

Unseeded Amelie Mauresmo of France, showed her credentials as defending women's champion, with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Luxembourg's Anne Kremer.

Sixth seed Anna Kournikova defeated fellow Russian Elena Bovina 6-4 6-4 in another first-round match.

Finally, Hewitt's Belgian girlfriend Kim Clijsters beat Slovenia's Tina Pisnik which puts her into the next round against top seed Martina Hingis.