Lleyton Hewitt will have to wait until Tuesday night to win his first match at the Brisbane International after he and fellow Australian Chris Guccione bombed out in Round 1 of the men’s doubles to top-seeded Australian-American pair Paul Hanley and Eric Butorac.
Hewitt and Guccione fell 6-4, 7-6(0) in the final match on Pat Rafter Arena on Day 1.
Hewitt must now prepare to take on another of the game’s veteran’s, Radek Stepanek, in first-round men’s singles action under lights on New Year’s night. Visit Ticketek for tickets to the night session.
In the only other men’s doubles match played on Sunday, unseeded pair Kei Nishikori of Japan and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov upset fourth seeds Mikhail Elgin of Russia and Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-7 in Round 1.