Tennis Australia Fires Back at Hewitt in Open Surface Controversy

Tennis Australia president Geoff Pollard on Tuesday responded to criticism from Lleyton Hewitt that the Australian Open's Rebound Ace surface was too slow, saying it is faster than ever compared to last year.

"We spent a substantial amount of money on making some modifications to the surface to make it faster," Pollard said in Adelaide at the ATP Tour stop. "It would appear it's not fast enough to what Lleyton prefers...it's very hard to create a perfect surface for everyone."

Hewitt used the analogy of the US Open priming their surface to compliment the games of stars Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick in the past, and said he is upset that Australian Open organizers are not consulting him on the court's speed.

"I thought I may have had a bit of pull after being No. 1 in the world for two years and winning a couple of slams, but obviously not that much," Hewitt said earlier this week. "I'm baffled by the whole thing. I really am and I've had a gut full of it to tell you the truth."

Hewitt has never made it past the fourth round of the Australian Open in eight attempts, and a win in 2005 would make him the first Australian man to win the title since Mark Edmondson in 1976.