Lleyton Hewitt has long been motivated by the Rocky movies and now Australia's leading tennis player has taken things a step further by tackling the "sweet science" as part of his training routine.

Following in the footsteps of his movie hero Rocky Balboa, the 2001 US Open champion and 2002 Wimbledon winner has been working out in Sydney with personal trainer Nathan Martin ahead of next month's Australian Open in Melbourne.

"It's fantastic. I really enjoy it," Hewitt told Friday's News Limited newspapers.

"I've done a lot of boxing to get fit and it's really helped with the fitness, the agility and my footwork as well as with stamina.

"I've done a lot of different things coming into this season but the boxing has been just great," added Hewitt, 26.

The South Australian is fond of screaming out "C'mon Rocky" on court and has been inspired by the Survivor tune "Eye of the tiger" before big matches.

"I've trained for eight weeks coming into this Australian summer and I feel I've done all the right things," he said.

"I'll be as fit, if not fitter, going into Melbourne than I was in 2005 (runner-up to Russia's Marat Safin)."

Hewitt endorsed the Plexicushion after a two-day stint on the surface at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena last week.

He said the new surface would be more consistent in pace and bounce than the previous Rebound Ace.

"The balls fluffed up a little bit but, all in all, I was happy with the pace of the court," he said.

"The great thing about Plexicushion is you'll have the same speed and consistency of bounce across the board, whether it's in centre court or on the outside courts."

The Sydney-based Hewitt returns home to Adelaide this weekend to open a season outside the world's top 20 for the first time since he was a teenager in 1999.

Hewitt will be top seed when he sets out to win the Adelaide International for a third time before Australia's former world No.1 shoots for a record fifth title at the Sydney International starting on January 6.

The two tournaments, along with the Kooyong Classic exhibition in Melbourne from January 9-12, serve as the major Australian Open warm-up events.

The 2008 Open at Melbourne Park from January 14-27 will feature every single one of the world's top 100 men and 98 of the top 100 women.

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