Hewitt's gritty 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 7-6 (10-8) victory over German Philipp Petzschner in the opening round of the German Open elevated Australia's young veteran into elite company.

Fellow former world No1's Roger Federer (638) and Carlos Moya (573) are the only other active players to have notched 500 ATP wins.

''It's nice to bring up those milestones and be among those calibre of players as well,'' Hewitt said after setting up a second-round meeting with Dutch qualifier Thiemo De Bakker at the French Open lead-up event.

''That obviously means I'm getting old. I've been around for a long time. It's something I guess when you retire and you look back on it and realise you've had a pretty good career.''

Hewitt, 28, now possesses an impressive 500-170 career win-loss record, including grand slam triumphs at the 2001 US Open and Wimbledon in 2002 and back-to-back Tennis Masters Cup titles in 2001-02 during his 80-week reign as world No1.

Hewitt hoisted a trophy every season from 1998 to 2007 before clinching his 27th career title last month in Houston.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times