The ‘Hewitt’ name is synonymous with tennis in Australia, and now there’s a new kid on the block ahead of the opening grand slam of the year in Melbourne.
Almost 20 years on from Lleyton Hewitt’s only appearance in the Australian Open final, his 16-year-old son, Cruz Hewitt, is preparing to make his grand slam debut in qualifying.
As the son of the last Australian men’s World No 1 and Wimbledon champion, Hewitt will have plenty of home support as he begins his long journey to emulate his father.
Born in 2008, Hewitt was handed a wildcard for qualifying after earning his first ranking points as a professional - he has six, some 11,026 behind current World No 1 Jannik Sinner, but enough to sit in the 1200s.
The teeanger has trained alongside some of the best junior players in the world at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca and among Hewitt’s Instagram pictures is a photo of him as a youngster at Wimbledon alongside the legendary Spaniard.
Hewitt has also accompanied his father, who is the captain of Australia’s Davis Cup team, on the bench at Davis Cup matches - earning experience of tennis at the highest levels.
If comparisons with his father are bound to be made, one big difference between Hewitt Jr and Hewitt Sr is in terms of build: at 16, the teenager stands at 6’2”, well above his 5’10” father.
The younger Hewitt has a more powerful serve, too, while the two-time grand slam champion reached the top of the sport through a more all-court game as well as speed and agility.
Hewitt has already practiced with last year’s Australian Open champion Sinner upon the Italian’s return to Melbourne Park.
That hit drew the ire of Nick Kyrgios, who has been a critic of Sinner since he escaped a ban for testing positive for a banned substance last year. Kyrgios commented on Instagram, “Love ya Cruz but this is wild”.
Last year, Hewitt received a wildcard to the boys’ singles at the Australian Open, drawing a large crowd on the outside courts.
Although he lost in the opening round, the experience should serve Hewitt well as he prepares for the first round of qualifying for the Australian Open main draw.
The 16-year-old will have to win three matches to enter the 128-player field, starting with a tough match against the experienced Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili.
