Lleyton Hewitt to retire from tennis after 2016 Australian Open, Pat Rafter stands down as Davis Cup captain

Updated

Former world number one Lleyton Hewitt says he plans to play in what would be his 20th Australian Open in 2016 before retiring from tennis.

At the moment, that is the main focus for us and then I will be looking towards the grass court season and finishing here in Melbourne, which would be special to play 20 Australian Opens. Lleyton Hewitt

Hewitt, speaking at a media conference at Melbourne Park with Pat Rafter and Wally Masur, flagged his intention to eventually take over the role of Davis Cup captain.

Rafter announced he would stand down from the role which he currently occupies, effective immediately, with Masur to take charge in an interim capacity.

Hewitt says he still believes he has something to contribute to the Australian Davis Cup team as a player.

"I had thought long and hard and I plan to play the Australian Open next year and then finish," he said.

"For me, obviously the Davis Cup is something that we have worked extremely hard to put in ourselves in a position with a genuine shot.

"I believe that the guys playing so well, we have that.

"We have a lot of options and depth.

"I feel like I can put my hand up as a player and help the boys get over the line.

"Whether that is singles, doubles or whatever is needed. At the moment, that is the main focus for us and then I will be looking towards the grass court season and finishing here in Melbourne, which would be special to play 20 Australian Opens."

Rafter revealed a busy schedule due to his role as Tennis Australia's director of performance and the possibility of a smooth transition were his reasons for stepping down.

"I am officially stepping down from the Davis Cup captaincy," he said.

"Wally will take over as the interim captain. Lleyton will then fill the spot when the time is right and ready. That will start pretty well, right now.

"Wally will take on the first role in the Czech Republic and run the Davis Cup how he feels it should be run.

"Obviously, Lleyton, being such a dominant part of the Davis Cup team for so long will provide strong assistance. That is where we are at the moment."

Masur happy to take on interim role

Masur, who played 32 Davis Cup matches for Australia, says he is happy to take over the position as captain on a temporary basis.

"When Pat began to speak to me about this that is what I felt," he said.

"Lleyton has an undeniable link with the Davis Cup.

"It is not the model in Australia to have a playing captain, as such, and we have come to this arrangement that he is still a player, he still has a career to finish out and see where it ends and until that happens, I will be captain.

"We still have great stability in the fact that Tony Roche is still involved and they have formed great relationships over the last few years.

"Having worked with these two before, when I was asked it was an easy decision to make because I felt like it helps facilitate these two players to be involved in a way that they would be involved and hopefully make a seamless transition."

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Topics: tennis, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, australia

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