(Mark Skendaris is a tennis fan, journalism school graduate and BPL Citizen Journalist.)

Top-ranked Australian Lleyton Hewitt announced recently that he had surgery on his foot and would miss the Miami Masters event commencing this week.

Hewitt stated "my foot has been troubling me for some time and I needed the surgery to enable me to compete at my best with the two Grand Slams coming up soon".

It is unsure how long Hewitt will be out of action, however it is known he is expecting to be ready for the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments in May and June. All sound familiar? Our highest ranked male tennis player (currently 64th) has hit a hurdle once again. It may be bad luck, but the tenacious baseliner must now surely realise it is time to consider retirement.

After ending the 2010 season early to get back to full fitness, the veteran has hit another road block in his quest to re-join the elite of tennis.

Here are the cold hard facts why he should call it quits:

* He is 30. Not many players on the ATP World Tour improve after they reach this age.
* Hewitt has become injury prone. Major hip and wrist injuries have caused him to lose his dash on the baseline, his main asset to notch up victories.
* His mental edge is gone. The gritty South Australian had this over all his opponents in the early 2000s. Agassi, Sampras, Rafter, Federer, Safin and Nadal all felt Hewitt's tiger-like attitude to never give up and wilted under his immense pressure on the court.
* No ‘go to' shot. At his best, Hewitt would grind his opponents into the ground. He's run down every ball, or at least try to, and rely on his opponent's unforced errors to hand him wins. He hasn't been able to add this weapon to his artillery to end a point quickly. The men's game is so powerful now; points are shorter and go at break-neck speed.
* Being our No. 1 for so long has drained his spirit. It must irritate Hewitt immensely that he has had to carry this mantle with no real support ever since Philippoussis and Rafter have left. God Bless Bernard Tomic for keeping the Australian spirit alive within the men's game. 
* He has a young family. His focus is not all on tennis these days which it was early in his stellar career when he was ranked No.1 at just 20 years of age.

Many thought that after a solid, injury-free off season, Hewitt could have possibly one or two decent years left on the tour. I was a believer. I was sure he could still rattle a few cages and maybe reach a quarter final of a Grand Slam event or make a semi-final of a Masters 1000 tournament. That looks a pipe dream at the moment.

His first-round loss at the Australian Open to Argentine foe David Nalbandian this year was disappointing. Not only the result (3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(1), 9-7), but how it happened.

Hewitt was up two sets to one and in the fourth he had the chance to finish off the match when the scores were 3-1 and 0-40, but he failed to capitalize. Hewitt had two match point opportunities but faltered, even against an opponent who would clearly be in his top five â€˜guys I love to beat', considering their prickly past.

It was not the Hewitt we all used to know. The pudgy, out-of-form Nalbandian was all but gone in that fourth set. Frustration set in, Hewitt's war cry of "C'mon" had surely broken his spirit.

Somehow, though, the Argentine freed up his shoulders, ripped winners from everywhere to stun the Aussie and claim an unlikely win. Even with the score heavily in his favour and victory within touching distance, Hewitt refused take any kind of risk that would have seen him home. He paid the ultimate price for being too timid, a trait that he has now become well-known for by all keen tennis fans.

Hewitt still claims he is good enough to beat the game's elite. He has often stated he can battle with the best of them if his body and mental game is right.

Unfortunately ‘Lley Lley', your mental toughness has faded away meekly like sawdust in the wind and your game these days stacks up with that of a grinder on the edge of the top 100.

It would be an ugly sight to see Hewitt blown off the court with no intensity or firepower by a Djokovic, Nadal or a Del Potro in the early stage of a major.

As for the future of our former champion, I would say one more crack at his beloved Wimbledon would be a smart way to leave the game with some grace and class. To let the Australian tennis fans remember him as a ferocious lion rather than what he has become: a timid kitten.