Updated

The lawyer representing Bob Hewitt says the former Grand Slam doubles champion and one-time tennis hall of famer has been charged with rape and sexual assault of minors and will go to trial in February.

Attorney Alwyn Griebenow told The Associated Press that Hewitt denies two charges of rape and one of sexual assault of girls he coached in South Africa decades ago.

Griebenow said Hewitt attended Boksburg Magistrate's Court near Johannesburg on Friday and told the court he understood the charges. He was not asked to enter a plea, but Griebenow said he would plead not guilty to all three charges at his trial.

The Australian-born Hewitt, now 74, won nine grand slam doubles and six mixed doubles titles in the 1960s and 1970s.