Forget about the promises thrown up over the years by Pat Cash and Pat Rafter.

Don't worry about the couple of outside chances Mark Philippoussis has had, and banish any thoughts of other middle-ranked locals winning Australia's national tennis championship.

The best chance any Australian player has had to win his national singles championship in the 28 years since Mark Edmondson did the job is the one that Lleyton Hewitt has this year.

Sure, Hewitt has blown a couple of good opportunities before.

He was world No.1 2002 only to become the first top seed to lose in the first round.

Last year he was again on the top line of the draw - and went out in the fourth round.

But this time the planets are in closer alignment.

The niggling problems - the chicken pox, the injuries, the bad behaviour - are gone.

Hewitt has enjoyed a trouble-free preparation, playing well in Perth in the Hopman Cup and then winning the Adidas International in Sydney.

The task was even made easier when his opponent the semi-final in Sydney got a pain in the belly and then Carlos Moya twisted his ankle in the first set of the final.

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