London, 24 June 2013 | Darren Saligari

Lleyton Hewitt may be about to launch into his 15th campaign at The Championships but the 32-year-old Australian still loves walking through the ornate cast iron gates of the All England Club.

“It’s one of my favourite times of year, playing on this surface, I feel comfortable out here and this is a special place to play tennis,” Hewitt told tennis.com.au.

The 2002 champion here, Hewitt may not be one of the favourites in 2013 but he is still considered by all to be a dangerous opponent who on his day can beat anybody in the draw.

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He proved as much last week at the Aegon Championships where he made the semifinals, accounting for Grigor Dimitrov, Sam Querrey and world No.8 Juan Martin del Potro.

Since then Hewitt has hit the practice courts at Wimbledon where he fine-tuned his preparation with a spirited session with defending champion Roger Federer.

“It was perfect. Obviously Roger and I have practiced together quite a bit the last few years and every practice session is intense but [also] pretty relaxed out there.

“I really enjoy hitting with him, he’s obviously such a great player but a good bloke as well. We had a bit of fun out there [but] I felt like I kept my rhythm going out there, which is important coming in and having to play on Monday.”

Waiting for Hewitt will be 11th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who holds a narrow 2-1 lead in their head to head but if Hewitt can carry his form from Queen’s into Wimbledon then he’s a good chance to pull of a first-round upset.

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“I don’t think he’ll be too thrilled to see me on the other side of the net … [but] he’s obviously confident and playing well at the moment.

“I feel like I’ve had a couple of good weeks on the grass and obviously had some success at Queen’s, which is nice.”

For Hewitt it’s the third time in four majors that he has drawn a seeded player, but the former world No.1 doesn’t feel like the tennis Gods are against him.

“You make your own luck I guess. Being unseeded you’re prepared to play whoever you come up against. If I can get through it, I have to be ready to go from the start of the tournament, which in some ways is a good thing.

Should Hewitt upset his more-fancied opponent then a second-round match-up with qualifier Dustin Brown or Guillermo Garcia Lopez awaits. And against either player, Hewitt would be considered favourite.

“If I can get through it [the first round] then I take his [Wawrinka’s] seeded spot in the draw as well, so there’s two ways to look at it.”