Hewitt wants to 'knock off' Tipsarevic

The tenacious veteran, 31, is bursting with confidence after demolishing Juan Martin Del Potro in the final of the warm-up tournament 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday, his third victory over top-15 opposition in the past week.

Lleyton Hewitt

World number nine Tipsarevic is next in the Australian's line of fire, at a Grand Slam he is playing for a record 17th consecutive time, three more than closest challenger Roger Federer.

And Hewitt has no fear of the Serb, who won the ATP Chennai Open in his preparation for Melbourne.

"I don't care. I'll knock him off, try to take his spot in the draw," said Hewitt, who made the fourth round of the Open last year. I look forward to the challenge. The last couple matches I've hit the ball as well as I can remember. I feel confident with where my game is at the moment.u00a0