Hewitt off to disappointing start

PERTH — Veteran Lleyton Hewitt's farewell Australian summer got off to a tough start when he was beaten by the Czech Republic's Jiri Vesely at the mixed teams Hopman Cup in Perth Sunday. 
The 34-year-old dual Grand Slam winner, now ranked 307th in the world, will retire after the upcoming Australian Open and showed some of his trademark grit to level his tie with the 41st-ranked Vesely by winning the second set in a lopsided tiebreak. 
However, the Czech bounced back to grab an early break of serve in the third set and held that advantage to win, 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 6-4. 
World No. 11 Karolina Pliskova then secured the tie for the Czechs over Australia Gold — one of two teams from the host nation playing in the event — with a comfortable 7-5, 6-3 win over Jarmila Wolfe (nee Gajdosova) in the women's singles. 
In the dead mixed doubles rubber, the Czechs made it a clean sweep with a 6-2, 7-5 win. 
Hewitt dismissed concerns about his left knee during the match against Vesely and said he was on track for his final Australian Open appearance later this month. 
"Jiri is a quality player and deserved to win, but it was just good to come out here for the first game of the year and get a tough match," Hewitt said. 
"Hopefully I can come out for the rest of the week now and get better from here to get ready for the rest of the summer." 
Earlier in the day, precocious Australian Nick Kyrgios warmed up for an early season test against world number two Andy Murray with an impressive come-from-behind win for Australia Green in a men's singles clash which gave a glimpse into the future.