Cruz Hewitt, son of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, won his first ever match at the All England Club on Sunday morning. The 16-year-old has entered the junior draw for the first time and he thrashed Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2.
Hewitt started playing on the Challenger tour last August as he looks to follow in his dad’s footsteps. The Aussie was controversially given a wildcard into qualifying for his home Grand Slam earlier this year, with Nick Kyrgios one of the first to criticise the decision, writing: “Love ya Cruz but this is wild.”
He was given a grim draw, losing for former world No.16 Nikoloz Basilashvili in round one. He reached round two in the junior event in Melbourne.
Hewitt lost in three sets in the first round of the French Open juniors last month but has now matched his career best at Wimbledon, making round two of the juniors.
He has accumulated 25 ranking points from Australian Open qualifying and the Challenger tour to sit No. 826 in the world rankings. However, the teenager has yet to make his debut on the ATP tour.
His dad Lleyton beat Argentina’s David Nalbandian to become the first Australian to win the Wimbledon title in 15 years.
And he stuck up for his son after the backlash caused by his Australian Open
“It’s a long journey,” two-time grand slam winner Hewitt said. “I was excited to watch him play. He had a tough draw playing Basilashvili, a former No.16 and a guy who played finals at Indian Wells.
“For Cruz to be around these guys, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alex de Minaur…. what unbelievable role models for him to see how they prepare.
“He is playing well at the moment and it makes me excited when I see him hit with some of these world-class players… he can actually give them a good enough hit out there.”
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