Hewitt plays down injury scare ahead of Australian Open

Dual Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt dismissed concerns over an injury scare at the Hopman Cup here Thursday.

In Australia's final group tie at the mixed teams tournament, the former world number one appeared hampered by hip and back soreness during his straight sets singles loss to Spaniard Tommy Robredo, raising concerns over his fitness ahead of the Australian Open in Melbourne in just under a fortnight.

Hewitt, who has been troubled by injury over the last two years and also slightly jarred a knee earlier in the week, called an injury time-out at the end of the first set, but finished the match, losing 6-2, 6-4.

He seemed to move more freely in the second set of the singles and then returned to the court for a mixed doubles rubber.

Speaking after the tie, the 28-year-old played down the problem, saying he had been suffering back spasms but had responded well to treatment on the court and again between the singles and doubles.

The world number 22 admitted the injury initially gave him a fright.

"I was a little bit worried at the start. It was about the second point and my back went into a bit of a spasm. I felt something on the serve," he said.

"I was more concerned about that for the first set than trying to compete and play tennis.

"The second set the back loosened up a bit, which was nice."

Hewitt said he fully expected to be fit for the Medibank International in Sydney starting Sunday.

"We'll have a bit more physio over the next few days before Sydney starts.

"I'm still not 100 per cent at the moment, but by the time I play in Sydney in a few days' time I am pretty confident I will be fine."

With two wins from three singles matches here, plus three mixed doubles matches, Hewitt said the Hopman Cup had served its purpose of providing valuable match practice in the new year.

"The main reason we come is to get matches under the belt," he said.

"The grand slams are the priorities and I want to be playing my best tennis in Melbourne.

"You can't buy that sort of practice where you go out there and you are break points down in a competitive environment.

"Both of us (Hewitt and team-mate Samantha Stosur) will take a lot out of this week."

Hewitt said he was in much better shape for this year's Australian Open than in 2009, when he bowed out in the first round following limited preparation after hip surgery.