Australia's Lleyton Hewitt made a dramatic mid-match exit while trailing 2-6, 0-3 to Olivier Rochus in his first-round match at Eastbourne on yesterday.

Hewitt, the former number one and 2002 Wimbledon champion, left the court after 40 minutes of his opening match in the Wimbledon warm-up event.

The 30-year-old has yet to make a successful comeback from spring foot surgery, losing early last week in Halle, Germany, where he was defending the title, and failing to complete his opening match here at Devonshire Park. "It was touch and go whether I'd be able to play here anyway," he said.

"I slipped over last week at the end of the first set against (Philipp) Kohlschreiber (in the Halle quarter-finals) and stirred up the foot that I had surgery on.