Hewitt's Australian Open campaign ends in 1st round

Melbourne: Lleyton Hewitt's record 17th consecutive Australian Open campaign ended in a 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-3 first-round loss to eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia on Monday night.

The former No. 1 player qualified for his first Australian Open when he was 15. He will turn 32 next month. Nobody in the Open era has played more consecutive Australian Opens than Hewitt, a former US Open and Wimbledon champion.

The closest Hewitt has come to ending a drought for local men that dates to 1976 at the national championship was when he lost the 2005 final to Russia's Marat Safin.