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The former World No. 1 will compete alongside Jordan Thompson

Lleyton Hewitt, a former No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is stepping out of retirement to play doubles with compatriot Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.

“I’m excited to play with Jordan in the doubles,” said Hewitt, who will partner his fellow Australian against 2017 Brisbane singles champion Grigor Dimitrov and Ryan Harrison in the first round. “There’s always such a great atmosphere at this tournament, and we’re looking forward to a tough match against Grigor and Ryan.”

Hewitt's last tour-level match was also alongside Thompson, reaching the second round at Wimbledon in 2016. The former World No. 1 will also be playing doubles at the Australian Open with Sam Groth.

It will be a thrill for the Australian crowd to see the 2014 Brisbane champion in action four years after he stunned top-seeded Roger Federer at the event to win one of his 30 tour-level singles titles.

“It’s great to see Lleyton back in action. His Brisbane International win in 2014… was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the tournament. He is still such a tough competitor, and hasn’t lost his will to win,” Tournament Director Cameron Pearson said. "He’s a favourite with the Aussie crowds, so I’m sure there will be a great atmosphere on the court, especially with the defending men’s champion on the other side of the net.”

Nitto ATP Finals champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers are the top seeds in the Brisbane doubles draw. They will face another superstar pairing - Canadians Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov - in the first round.

India’s ATP World Tour 250 event makes its first appearance in Pune

The Tata Maharashtra Open is set to get underway this week with Marin Cilic heading a field of 28 players vying to start their 2018 ATP World Tour seasons off with a bang.

Leading the charge for the first time in the West Indian metropolis of Pune, is World No. 6 and 2014 US Open champion Cilic. With nothing to defend in the opening week of 2018, Cilic will look to add on precious ranking points to nudge himself closer to the career-high of No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings that he achieved late last season courtesy of his run to the Wimbledon final. The 29-year-old Croat is a two-time champion at Tata Maharashtra Open in both 2009 and 2010, when the tournament was held in Chennai.

Cilic will open against either Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena or Indian wild card Ramkumar Ramanathan, who will be starting his season in his home country for the fifth straight year.

View Pune Draw

Seeded second in Pune is 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson. Despite missing the first months of his 2017, the South African returned with vengeance, skyrocketing back into the Top 15 by reaching the second week at all three Grand Slams he played in addition to an appearance in the final of Citi Open. Anderson will play either Ruben Bemelmans or a qualifier in his first match.

Defending champion and World No. 22 Roberto Bautista Agut returns to India having claimed the crown in Chennai one year ago over Daniil Medvedev. Having landed in the same half of the draw as Cilic, Bautista Agut will have to fight past Tennys Sandgren or Gilles Simon to have a chance at a potential semi-final showdown with the Croatian No.1 seed.

Benoit Paire and Robin Haase also join the competition in Pune, with a possible quarter-final meeting between the two should they navigate past their opening obstacles. Paire kicks off 2018 against either Nicolas Kicker or Marton Fucsovics, while Haase plays Blaz Kavcic.

Additionally, returning from a lengthy injury layoff is Pablo Andujar. Andujar, who reached a career-high of No. 32 in the Emirates ATP Rankings back in 2015, hasn’t played a tour-level match since late 2016 and will look to start 2018 with momentum when he faces Nicolas Jarry in the first round. Jarry made his Top 100 debut in November and will be keen to build upon his three ATP Challenger Tour titles in 2017 as he transitions on to the ATP World Tour in 2018