Melbourne,Jan 14: Former No. 1-ranked Lleyton Hewitt's record 17th consecutive Australian Open campaign ended in a 7-6 (4), 7-5, 6-3 first round loss to eighth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia on Monday night.
The closest Hewitt has come to ending a drought for local men that dates back to 1976 at the national championship was when he lost the 2005 final to Russia's Marat Safin.