Lleyton Hewitt is confident he has enough tennis nous to cope without a coach and is in no rush to appoint one.

While the former world No.1 is still searching for a new mentor, he said he would prefer to go it alone rather than make a quick decision he might regret later.

"I know how all my opponents are going to play and I'd like to think I'm pretty astute about the game and where my game's at and what I feel I need to do as well," Hewitt said.

"If I'm in the right frame of mind going out there then I still think I can do damage in any tournament.

"We'll just see how it happens ... it's something I'm not going to rush into."

It is the first time the 25-year-old has been without a coach in his professional career, after interim coach Scott Draper last week decided to focus on his golf.

Draper had assisted Hewitt during the Australian Open after long-time coach Roger Rasheed quit in early January after an angry bust-up.

Hewitt had wanted Draper to stay on, but said he understood his decision.

"He's got a dream of hopefully getting on the US (PGA) Tour one day and I would hate to think that he would regret not having a full crack at it," he said.

Hewitt said it was not a bad time to be without a coach, given the next grand slam event, the French Open, was four months away.

He said he would look worldwide for a new coach, but an Australian would be ideal for practical reasons.

"I prefer to come home and live in Australia when I'm not playing and that's the toughest thing I think," he said.

"Purely from the fact that if that person's got a family it's tough to travel all the time, to come back in the weeks off, which we don't have a lot, to come back to Australia and train with a player.

"That's probably in the past why I've leaned more towards the Australian guys to help out rather than overseas guys.

"But if there's other guys out there that I feel can help me make that next step and take me back to top five in the world then I'll definitely be looking at it."

Hewitt also said he hoped to play more tournaments in 2007 than in recent years.

"Touch wood, I'll definitely be playing more than in the last couple of years, purely on an injury factor," he said.

"(I had) a cracked rib and a twisted ankle before the French Open last year, things didn't quite fall as I planned.

"That's not easy for any tennis player, so I definitely feel I need to get a lot more matches."

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