Former champion Radek Stepanek has pulled out of Tuesday night’s first-round Brisbane International clash with Lleyton Hewitt due to an eye infection.

Russian lucky loser Igor Kunitsyn will replace veteran Czech Stepanek, the former world No.8, handing Hewitt a slightly easier path to the second round in his first match of the summer.

Eccentric world No.31 Stepanek, 34, had enjoyed a Midas touch in Brisbane, claiming the 2009 title and making the 2010 final.

Eighth-seeded Slovakian Martin Klizan is also out after suffering a straight-sets first-round loss to Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin.

World No.30 Klizan should have arrived in Brisbane with a spring in his step after being named 2012’s ATP Newcomer of the Year.

Slovakia’s top-ranked player had a breakthrough 2012 in which the big-serving left hander won his first ATP World Tour title.

But the 23-year-old looked out of sorts in an erratic display and world No.43 Istomin showed no mercy, wrapping up the match 6-1 6-2 in just 70 minutes.

Istomin – the first player from Uzbekistan to finish the year in the world top 50 – ensured Klizan endured a nightmare start to 2013.

Istomin will play the winner of Hewitt’s clash with Kunitsyn, the world No.162.