BOKSBURG, South Africa (AP) The rape and sexual assault case against Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt was postponed on Friday until next year while South Africa's public prosecutor brings an application to have the charges against the former hall of famer centralized and heard in the same court.
Hewitt is accused of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault of young girls. Two of the alleged victims were under the age of 16 at the time and the third under 18.
Prosecutors say the offenses date back as far as the early 1980s, when Hewitt was still a major name in tennis. Two are alleged to have occurred in Boksburg, a city east of Johannesburg, and a third offense took place in South Africa's North West province, prosecutors say, a different court jurisdiction and the reason for the application by the state.
Hewitt denies the charges and has previously threatened to sue his accusers.
A court in Boksburg on Friday postponed the case until Jan. 10.