DOB: 24.02.1981 Nationality: Australian World Ranking: 1 Australian Open record:  2002 :: first round 2001 :: third round 2000 :: fourth round 1999 :: second round 1998 :: first round 1997 :: first round

Hewitt went into last year as the world number one and built on that success over the following 12 months, winning Wimbledon and retaining his top ranking.

The year ended with a magnificent win in the ATP Masters Cup as the 21-year-old saw off his biggest rivals for the second year in a row.

But it was far from a perfect year, and Hewitt still has plenty to prove on home soil.

At last year's Australian Open he became the first top seed to lose in the first round of a Grand Slam since 1990, and he has yet to make even the quarter-finals in Melbourne.

He also went out of the French Open in the fourth round and let his US Open crown slip with a semi-final loss to Andre Agassi.