Only one question for Hewitt

There is only one question on the mind of Lleyton Hewitt. Does he have enough fuel in the tank to be crowned world number one for the second straight year?

Against French Open champion Albert Costa yesterday, a player who has complained of fatigue this year, Hewitt was pushed to three sets before winning 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the Masters Cup in Shanghai.

Carlos Moya upset Marat Safin and Roger Federer dismissed the challenge of Juan Carlos Ferrero in their opening matches, but those results mean hardly anything compared to the race to be number one.

“Holding number one would be a great way to finish a very long year,” said the 21-year-old Hewitt, who can be caught by number two Andre Agassi.

“It’s a great honour to hold number one. I’ve had it almost a full calendar year. When you’ve come this far, you don’t want to let go just yet.”