Lleyton Hewitt to be honored at 2016 Australian Open

Lleyton Hewitt. AFP FILE PHOTO

MELBOURNE, Australia — Former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has a wild card into January’s Australian Open to mark a record 20th-straight appearance in his national tennis Grand Slam, which is also likely to be his last.

The 34-year-old Hewitt, now ranked No. 296, had his best result when he finished runner-up in 2005 but hasn’t been past the second round in the last three years.

Tournament director Craig Tiley told reporters at the launch of the 2016 Open on Tuesday “we want to celebrate the great career Lleyton’s had but we need to sit down and talk with him because he will also want to focus on doing the best he can at the Open.”

Tiley said prize money for 2016 would rise by 10 percent to A$44 million ($32-million).