Street-fighter Hewitt goes down swinging in Melbourne

Australia's Lleyton Hewitt reacts during his first round match against compatriot James Duckworth at the Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park, Australia, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Andre Agassi did not think much of the 16-year-old Lleyton Hewitt when he marched out for their first match on a broiling hot day in South Australia in 1998.

A short and skinny kid with straggly hair spilling out of a backward-facing baseball, Hewitt looked more like an unkempt ball-boy than a promising junior wading into a tour event.