Almost 25 years after Lleyton Hewitt lifted the Wimbledon trophy, his highly regarded son Cruz is making his own mark on the grass courts of SW19, carrying Australian hopes with his famous father watching on.
With Australia no longer represented in the men’s or women’s singles draws, attention has turned to the 17-year-old son of the Davis Cup captain, who became the last Aussie junior in contention after powering into the boys’ quarter-finals on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
It marks a significant breakthrough for the emerging professional prospect, with Hewitt becoming the first Australian to reach this stage of the boys’ competition since Alex de Minaur did so 10 years ago.
Hewitt was quick to acknowledge his father — the 2002 Wimbledon champion — after an impressive third-round win over second seed Jamie Mackenzie, the New Zealand-born German, claiming a 6-3 6-4 victory in just 69 minutes under bright sunshine.
De Minaur went on to make the boys’ final in 2016 before losing to Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, and Hewitt, currently ranked No.606 on the ATP tour and climbing, has made no secret of his ambition to produce a similarly deep run.
‘Every tournament, you come in and you hope to win it, but I’m just here taking it one match at a time,’ said the Sydneysider.
Cruz Hewitt has booked his place in the quarter-finals of the boys’ singles draw at Wimbledon
Cruz, pictured alongside his celebrated father Lleyton, is underlining his status as one of Australia’s top young tennis prospects
Hewitt (pictured with parents Lleyton and Bec) is looking to become the first Aussie to make the final of the boys’ singles at Wimbledon since 2016
‘So far, three matches and I’ve enjoyed playing every one. So next match, I’ll try and do the same and then we’ll see how it goes,’ added the unseeded Hewitt, looking forward to playing Bulgarian ninth seed Dimitar Kisimov in the last-eight on Thursday (Friday AEST).
Hewitt reckoned that having dad on hand to help, with Lleyton on duty in the invitational doubles event for former stars, was working to his benefit.
‘I’ve warmed up with him every day, so he helps me a lot. Obviously, having him on the sidelines has helped, just to support me being there. I’m grateful for him in my corner.’
Lleyton was playing alongside Italian Fabio Fognini on No.2 Court on Wednesday, while Cruz was playing his match, but had been courtside throughout his son’s win in the previous round.
Inevitably, there’s a lot of interest in the ex-champion’s son around the grounds of the All England Club, and Cruz reckoned he really enjoyed all the interaction.
‘The Australian people in the crowd have just been really good. I got a few ‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussies!’ today, and that definitely helps, gets my energy up. I perform better in those type of situations on the court,’ he said.
‘I showed my appreciation to those who were cheering for me and basically helping me get over the line. I appreciate everyone who does that.’
The teenager has chosen to skip junior events since last year’s US Open, opting instead to harden himself on the competitive senior World Tennis circuit, and has already reached one final and a semi in grass-court events that clearly suit him.
Against Mackenzie, he was impressed by his own form.
‘I think I played a pretty good match and feel like I did the right things. It’s good to get the win, I’m pretty happy to be in the quarter-finals and happy that I get to play another match at this tournament.’
