Having successfully helped guide Australia into the Davis Cup semi-finals, Lleyton Hewitt will now turn his attention to the European claycourt season and says he shouldn't be written off as a French Open contender.

Hewitt admits he finds the French the most difficult of the four grand slam events but, in a sign of his determination to return to elite levels in tennis after slipping out of the world's top 10 this year, the former Wimbledon and US Open champion says success at Roland Garros is not beyond him.

A two-time quarter-finalist in Paris, Hewitt will be playing the French Open for the first time since 2004 after missing last year's claycourt major through injury.

"I didn't play this whole next 10 weeks last year with a cracked rib, so I'm looking forward to going out and getting some cheap (rankings) points on the tour and hopefully getting my ranking up again," he said at Kooyong.

"Last year was a tough year: to finish in the top four and only play eight events, you can't ask for much more than that, I guess, when you only finish eight tournaments.

"But it's going to be nice to build on that.

"Wimbledon's obviously the key in a couple of months' time, but it'd be nice to go out there and be an underdog at the French Open and see what happens.

"Last time I played, I made a quarter-final, lost to the eventual winner in Gaston Gaudio so I've won some big matches at the French.

"It's probably going to be the toughest grand slam for me to win, but it's definitely not out of the question.

"Obviously at the moment, (Rafael) Nadal's got to be the red-hot favourite, though."

The world No.12 is also excited about the prospect of returning to Wimbledon, where he was the last player to win the title before Roger Federer collected the first of his three trophies in 2003.

"Every time you go back there, even more so being a past champion, you look forward to it more and more," Hewitt said.

"The tradition really builds. I guess it's like the Masters golf.

"You go back there and so many Australians have done well there in the past. You know that history. It's like our Davis Cup history in Australia as well.

"That's why you want to perform well."

Hewitt's straight-set victory over Vladimir Voltchkov on Friday put Australia on the threshold of a fifth Davis Cup semi-final appearance in eight years since the former world No.1 made his debut in the competition in 1999.

Wayne Arthurs and Paul Hanley then gave Australia an unassailable 3-0 advantage over the Belarussians with a five-set doubles success against Voltchkov and Max Mirnyi on Saturday.

Arthurs and Chris Guccione, who also beat Mirnyi in his opening singles match on Friday, completed a 5-0 rout with wins in Sunday's two dead rubbers.

Australia will play either cup holder Croatia or old foe Argentina from September 22-24 for a place in the December 1-3 final.

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