A cautious Lleyton Hewitt pulls out of Kooyong Classic ahead of Australian Open Following his win at the Brisbane International last week, Lleyton Hewitt will once again hold the hopes of a nation at the 2014 Australian Open. Lleyton Hewitt in action at the Brisbane International. LLEYTON Hewitt has decided not to defend his AAMI Classic title at Kooyong this week, opting out of the round-robin event as a safeguard ahead of Monday's Australian Open. The former world No. 1 will instead face Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in an exhibition on Friday at Kooyong. Buoyed by a confidence-boosting victory over Roger Federer in the Brisbane International final on Sunday, Hewitt does not want to run the risk of further depleting his reserves ahead of his 18th Australian Open tilt. The South Australian, 32, is likely to be replaced in the Kooyong invitational by Jordan Thompson. "Obviously this week is all about preparation for the Australian Open and getting yourself in as good a nick as possible," Hewitt said. The last four days playing, four tough matches in a row - I've got to do the right thing by my body and what's best for me to go out and play the biggest tournament of the year in my country. That said, I've always been looked after extremely well at Kooyong and I take a lot of pride winning this tournament twice. And I want to try and support Australian tennis as much as possible and these kind of events. So I'm thrilled I can still come out here and play a match on Friday, obviously, against another quality player. At the moment, it's all about recovery for me. When you get older, it gets a bit tougher. It's tougher than when you were 16, but I still enjoy being out there and having some success. Saturday was pretty bloody hot up in Queensland. Saturday and Sunday was brutal conditions up in Brisbane. Very little breeze and very hot and humid in Pat Rafter Arena. We're going into the first major and you have to do absolutely everything that's right for you. Australian Open defending champion Novak Djokovic has also requested a warm-up match at Kooyong and he will play Argentine Juan Monaco on Thursday.