Lleyton Hewitt last night invited suggestions that he might retire from tennis after admitting that he is not certain to compete at the Queen's Club Aegon Championships next year.

He has won the competition four times in his career but was knocked out in the second round this year. The Australian was beaten yesterday 6-3, 6-4 by 10th seed Feliciano Lopez.

It was a frustrating defeat for Hewitt, since he has competed for at the renowned Kensington tournament in 15 consecutive seasons. The former world No.1 has not won the title since 2006 and may now choose to bow out of the game altogether.

"Will I return next year? Who knows? I don't know," said Hewitt last night. "I have enjoyed coming back here. It's one of my favourite tournaments and I love coming back here. You always have good memories to come back to places where you played well."