Drysdale expects Hewitt progress

Leyton Hewitt's coach David Dysdale believes his player will start to climb the rankings following his radical surgery.

The Australian has had metal plates and screws inserted into the big toe on his left foot to rectify a problem that has been hindering his game for some time. Hewitt is now preparing for his French Open first round encounter with Blaz Kavcic at Roland Garros, with the Grand Slam competition set to get underway on Sunday. Having come through the operation, Drysdale believes Hewitt will start to put some decent results together and climb from 137 in the world rankings. He said: "He has played spasmodically because he has had different injuries over the last three years so in some ways, it has actually protected his body. If anything he might be able to play a little bit longer. "The aim is certainly to play out the rest of this year and get his ranking up again and then have a good 12 months, hopefully injury free, where he can have another crack at it."