Former world No.1 and two time grand slam winner Lleyton Glynn Hewitt has applauded the staging of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) J5 Tournament in Lautoka, saying it gave local and regional players a chance to gain experience against some of the top junior players in the world.
The Australian, 41, who won the the 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon Championships, is in the country coaching his son Cruz, 13, who is part of the event in Lautoka.
Lleyton, who is visiting Fiji for the first time, said the biggest thing needed to develop a top tennis player was having good competition.
“It is good to have these opportunities for the locals to play in events like this,” he said.
“Playing against international players is important for the development of tennis in any country, especially for players from a small island such as Fiji to gain that experience.
“In any training place for tennis, you need to have a group of people you know who are pushing each other. That is the biggest thing I have seen for the development of the sport.
“There are a couple of decent players on the islands here, but you need to have more players who can push each other to get better.
“That way they will help each other as they go along while striving to get better.”
Meanwhile, Fiji’s Charles Cornish lost to Nathan Lim of Australia in the second round of the men’s singles draw. He went down 5-7, 5-7. Daniel Pillay lost to Max Knauer also of Australia 0-6-1-6.
The ITF J5 Tournament continues at the Regional Tennis Courts at Nadovu Ground today.
