Lleyton Hewitt has been around the international tennis scene since 1998. He has captivated tennis fans around the world with his dogged fighting style of play. Known for his competitiveness, he wins most of his matches with mental toughness, relentless aggression, fitness, consistent strokes, and highly skilled footwork.

At the 2004 Cincinnati Masters Final, commentator MaliVai Washington said that Hewitt was even more difficult to "ace" than Agassi, "because he gets more returns in play." In Andre Agassi's book "Open", Hewitt is described as one of the best shot selectors in the history of men's tennis and US Davis Cup Captain Patrick McEnroe and Jim Courier have both described Hewitt's lob, as being the best in the world.

His tactics have always been about putting difficult return of serves into play, consistently chasing down attempted winning shots from his opponents and waiting for his opponent to make an error.

His single-minded determination and constant drive saw the Australian win numerous National titles as a junior, be ranked No.1 in Australia in 1996 after capturing the National Hardcourt and Grasscourt 18s titles, and evolve to be the youngest qualifier ever for the Australian Open in 1997, all before the age of 15.

Much of this competiveness has sprung from his family¡¦s ambition. Each year, from the age of five, Hewitt and his family travelled to Melbourne for the Australian Open. He would spend up to 12 hours a day at the tennis, getting up at sunrise.

Hewitt's involvement with tennis was orchestrated deliberately by his parents. Hewitt was steered towards tennis and away from Australian Rules Football, a sport his father played professionally.

At the age of four, when Hewitt was hitting balls consistently over the net and with a reasonable stroke, his parents decided it was time to employ a coach.

"Rather than get into bad habits, it was best he learnt how to hit the ball correctly," said Glynn Hewitt. Two years later, they sought out Peter Smith, a former player who had coached John Fitzgerald, Roger Rasheed, Louise Stacey and his own son, Luke Smith.

By the time Hewitt was eight, he was winning matches against older children and achieved his first professional title in 1998 when as an almost unknown youngster, he won the Adelaide International, defeating Andre Agassi in the Semi-Finals.

Hewitt went on to become the youngest male competitor to ever to be ranked No.1, at the age of 20, he has Grand Slam singles titles from the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 and another 26 tennis titles to his name, captured between 1998 and 2010.

Despite these achievements Hewitt is still fighting one of the biggest battles he has faced; to claim a final Grand Slam title in his thirties on the comeback from injury.

After two hip surgeries, in 2008 on his left side and after his exit from the 2010 Australian Open, on his right hip, many felt Hewitt was done.

The No.26 has however stunned the critics with a miracle comeback from his second career threatening injury in 2010. Post surgery this year, Lleyton had a good third-round showing against the untouchable Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, the famous grass court Finals defeat of Roger Federer in Halle which was only Federer's second defeat on grass in 78 matches dating back to 2002, and a strong Wimbledon performance where he lost in the fourth round to Novak Djokovic.

The win alone in Halle went a long way to prove that the Aussie is capable of greater things and his retirement genuinely isn't something he's "thinking about right at the moment."

Seven time grand Slam singles champion, John McEnroe, gives Hewitt a chance purely because of his tenacity and intensity.

"If you had to pick four guys in the history of tennis for their ability to fight and to be competitive every time they walk on court, Lleyton is in there," McEnroe said.

"Of the guys I've seen you have (Rafael) Nadal, (Jimmy) Connors, (Michael) Chang and Lleyton. This guy is amazing. He fights for everything. And we all have to remember he's coming back from two hip operations."

Boris Becker also gives Hewitt credence in being able to return to the top 10. "That's a realistic aim for Lleyton," Becker said. "He is much better than his ranking suggests and the other players in the locker-room know that."

Becker also said Hewitt has every right to be quietly confident after halting his 15-match losing streak against Federer in Halle, Wimbledon lead-up event. "Given he relies so much on his footwork, it's almost a miracle to come back. But all of a sudden he goes to Halle and ... here we go," the triple Wimbledon Champion told the BBC.

"I wouldn't call him a dark horse because he's won the title before. On a good day, he's still one of the best grass court players around. It's good to see him back and healthy and jumping. If there's ever a fight in a bar, you'd want Hewitt in your corner because he doesn't back off. He doesn't have the biggest forehand and serve, but tennis is not only a game of height and power. It's a matter of heart - and Lleyton's got one of the biggest on the men's Tour. He has the heart and mind of a lion."

There is no doubt Hewitt is a fighter so when he is two sets to love down, he isn't out of it. Some of his most memorable victories have come from this as Hewitt¡¦s great ability is to fight back from seemingly impossible positions when the tennis betting world isn't sure what to do with him.

What you can be certain of with Hewitt is that he never goes down without a fight.

"It's about giving yourself a chance," Hewitt has said.

"I'd much rather be in my position of coming back at 30 (next year) and won it before than never have won it and trying to win your first one. Yeah, I'll come back, give 100 per cent and see what happens. That's the upside."

"I feel like I've got as good a chance as a few guys there that can win it," Hewitt said about Wimbledon.

"I need a little bit of luck always. I think if things fall my way, then yeah, sure. There are a lot of positives to take out of this. My body is standing up well, knowing that I can compete with the top guys at this level."

Strangely and fittingly, Hewitt is a huge fan of the Rocky films. In his junior years, he was often heard saying "Come on Balboa!" after winning crucial points in his matches. As a senior player, he is still heard shouting "Come On!" at turning points during matches. It is this drive, determination and the fighter in Hewitt that will dictate whether the soon to be 30-year-old can muster one more Grand Slam victory.