Hewitt fears doubles trouble

22dec00

LLEYTON HEWITT will resist the temptation to add more grand slam doubles silverware to his trophy cabinet by temporarily ending his burgeoning partnership with Max Miryni. Hewitt and Mirnyi combined for a stunning, surprise victory at the US Open in September but will not team at the Australian Open from January 15-28 to allow the South Australian to concentrate on singles. Hewitt's coach, Darren Cahill, said that as much as Hewitt relished playing doubles - he won two titles this season to add to four singles crowns - the teenager was intent on conserving energy for singles. "The Australian Open singles is the No.1 tournament for Lleyton, even more so than the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open" Cahill said. "It's his major priority of winning a grand slam. He doesn't want to put anything at risk by playing doubles. "This year he won singles in Adelaide and Sydney and made the doubles finals in Adelaide and Sydney and by the time he got to Melbourne, he was struggling. "Everything we do this year is with Melbourne in mind." Cahill said the world No.7 was steadily improving from the breathing problem which threatened to complicate his career. "He saw a homeopath three or four days ago and he had a blood test yesterday," Cahill said. "There were a couple of little signs that things are getting better. The results from the blood test were certainly better than the ones he got from tests in Belgium. "He's resting at the moment so we don't know yet if he's going to play Adelaide [AAPT Championships from January 1-7]. "But if he continues to feel better and he wants to pick up a racquet, then he could play Adelaide. "He has turned down a big offer from the Hopman Cup to give himself a chance of playing Adelaide. "At the same time, he's not going to sacrifice his chances at the Australian Open by playing Adelaide if he's not ready." Hewitt has been battling the undiagnosed respiratory affliction since August and is scheduled to play only the adidas International in Sydney as preparation for the Australian Open. But he is tempted to play his hometown tournament, which launched his career three years ago.