Departing tennis great Lleyton Hewitt will target the Hopman Cup as his main preparation ahead of his last Australian Open.
The former world No.1, conceding he has played in few tournaments over the past 12 months, said on Thursday that the Perth event, which comes a little more than a week out from the Australian Open, would be his best opportunity to ready himself for Melbourne.
The 34-year-old, who will retire after the Australian Open in January, will also take on fellow Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis in an exhibition match to be played in Hobart next month.
It will be the first time since he was a teenager that Hewitt has played in Tasmania.
The Hopman Cup, however, looms as his main preparation for the opening grand slam of 2016.
"It's important going into the Australian Open, because I haven't played that many tournaments this year, just to get matches under my belt. So the Hopman Cup provides that for me," Hewitt said in Sydney at the launch of the 2016 Fast4 Tennis exhibition.
"I'm guaranteed three, possibly four matches against quality players," he said.
The Hopman Cup will be held in Perth from January 3-9.
Read more at SMH.com.au