19 July 2011 | Tennis Australia

Lleyton Hewitt has been joined in the main draw of the ATP Atlanta Tennis Championships by Davis Cup teammate Marinko Matosevic, who won his final round qualifying match on Tuesday.

After helping Australia back into the Davis Cup World Group Play-offs with a 3-1 win over China last week, Hewitt will kick off his US hard court season with a first round meeting against American qualifier Phillip Simmonds at the ATP 250 event in Atlanta.

Hewitt has slipped to No. 174 in the rankings after a season disrupted by injury but will look to embark on the long road back with a strong showing in Atlanta.

Matosevic bounced back strongly from his five-set loss against China’s Di Wu in the first singles rubber of last week’s Davis Cup tie to score three wins in Atlanta qualifying and secure his spot in the main draw.

The Australian beat Denis Kudla in the final round 6-1 1-6 7-6(3) and will face Russian Igor Kunitsyn in his first round main draw match.