Former Czech player Petr Korda, the first high profile tennis star to be banned for a positive steroid test, warned Rusedski would be shunned from the game and face a never-ending battle to clear his name.

But Rusedski, who took no questions after delivering a brief statement, reported: “I have been very encouraged by the reaction I have had from people. I have had nothing but support.

“Even in the locker room I have been particularly encouraged by the players’ reaction. They have been very positive and sympathetic towards me.”

First up for Rusedski at the adidas International in Sydney is Juan Ignacio Chela, the Argentine who was suspended for three months in 2001 after testing positive for the steroid methyltestosterone.

“I want to concentrate on my tennis right now,” said Rusedski.

“I have a match coming up, I have got to get ready for Sydney this week and I have got the Australian Open as well.

“I am looking forward to playing my match against Chela. It is obviously going to be a difficult first round match. I want to concentrate on my game of tennis right now, that is what I do for a living and that is why I am in Australia.”

Rusedski’s decision to play on today received the public backing of Hewitt, who insisted he had no problem with the under-fire 30-year-old.

“You can’t find a guy guilty until you prove him guilty. Greg is playing here and in Melbourne,” said Hewitt, who could meet Rusedski in the semi-finals.

“I would say ‘hello’ to him. I am not that close to Greg, but I would not ignore him or anything, that’s for sure.”

Other than a recorded television address made from his hotel room in Adelaide last week, Rusedski has remained largely silent on his case, leaving his lawyer Mark Gay to lead an aggressive defence from London.

Rusedski has blamed the ATP testing procedure and claimed he has been “singled out” as one of just 47 players to return positive nandrolone tests.

Hewitt voiced his own concerns over the testing procedure.

“I guess it does worry everybody, because if you do get singled out and a lot of other people have had the same thing in their body and they have been getting off because there has been a group of them,” he said.

“I don’t know all the little ingredients that put all the case together and it is very difficult for myself to comment on Greg’s individual case.

“I had heard rumours about all those other players, that something had happened. But I didn’t play those last few tournaments so really wasn’t paying too much attention to the tour.

“You are wary the whole time (about) what goes into your body. It’s a tough situation because there have been problems.”

The Czech player Bohdan Ulihrach was initially suspended by the ATP for two years after his sample was found to contain a low concentration of nandrolone metabolites.

However, his ban was overturned when panel chairman Professor Richard McLaren concluded that there was a single source for a host of positive tests, which was likely to be substances supplied to players by ATP trainers.

“There has already been a situation where a few came out (and tested positive) because they happened in electrolyte tablets in one tournament,” said Hewitt.

“Anything you take you have got to get checked by the doctors and tournament officials just to make sure.”

Last year, Hewitt filed a 2.5m Australian dollars (€1.5m) defamation claim against the ATP including allegations an attempt was made to dupe him into refusing a drug test.

In papers filed at the South Australian Supreme Court in June last year, Hewitt claimed he had been approached in October 2002 by a man in Zurich who worked for a company ATP used to conduct random drug tests on its players.

Hewitt claims he was asked by the man to sign a document that turned out to be a refusal to have ATP drug testing.

“The individual had not identified himself or his authority before asking that the form be signed,” the papers claim.

“If Hewitt had signed … he would have been banned from professional tennis for two years.”

Hewitt brought the defamation action, which is yet to be settled, after the ATP fined him for allegedly refusing to do an interview.