Firstly I'd like to thank everyone for their best wishes with my recovery from surgery and also on the pregnancy news of our second child.

Well the time came that I had to bite the bullet and have surgery on my hip. It started at the Tennis Channel Open in Las Vegas back in Feb and I'd been trying to play through it and still give myself a shot at the Grand Slams and Davis Cup. After my first match at the Olympics I pretty much knew that I couldn't continue playing like I was and that something had to be done.

So I came home, had the surgery and all went really well. I can't wait to get back on the court and test it out.

My biggest goal now is to be in as good a shape as possible for the Australian Open. I'll be starting at the Hopman Cup in Perth which will work out well to get at least 3 tough matches under my belt, and then at the Medibank in Sydney, all leading up to the Open.

It means so much playing at Rod Laver Arena in front of a packed Aussie crowd. It's hard to believe that the 2009 Australian Open will be my 13th appearance in the main draw. It really doesn't feel that long ago that I was a 15yr old qualifying for my 1st Grand Slam against Sergi Bruguera.

There is one place I'd love to be this week and that's with my Davis Cup team mates in Chile. For me there's no better feeling than playing for your country and some of my greatest moments have come in the Davis Cup. The boys are real underdogs this week against a strong Chilean outfit playing on their home soil but one thing is for sure, they will wear the green and gold with pride and leave absolutely everything on the court. We love nothing more than having our backs against the wall so fingers crossed they can pull it off!

For me,now it's back to the rehab sessions and to enjoy some great family time.

I'd like to say hi to Adriana, Alex, Amanda, Amrit, Anthony, Ben, Christina, Connor, Davis, Deborah, Eric & Rebecca, Hayley, Janko, Jordan, Juan, Kelsey, Martin, Mitch, Molly, Narelle, Nikki, Panzeri, Pauline, Phil, Richy, Shona & John, Urmi, Yianni and Yuiichiro.

Cheers,

Rusty