Nearly 25 years have passed since Lleyton Hewitt’s victorious Wimbledon campaign, and now his son Cruz is making an impressive mark at SW19, proudly representing Australia. Adding an extra layer of support, his legendary father is present to cheer him on.
As the singles events for men and women come to a close for Australian participants, attention has shifted to 17-year-old Cruz Hewitt. The son of the Davis Cup captain has become the country’s focal point as he charges into the quarter-finals of the boys’ championship, a feat he achieved on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).
This milestone marks a significant breakthrough for Cruz, who is the first Australian to reach this stage in the boys’ tournament since Alex de Minaur accomplished the same nearly ten years ago.
Following his notable third-round win against the second-seeded Jamie Mackenzie, a New Zealand-born German, Cruz was quick to express his appreciation for his father. The final score of 6-3, 6-4 was achieved in just 69 minutes under the relentless sun, and Cruz’s victory was reminiscent of Lleyton’s own triumph at Wimbledon in 2002.
Back in 2016, Alex de Minaur progressed to the boys’ final, where he faced defeat at the hands of Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Now, Cruz, who ranks No. 606 in the ATP standings, is eagerly aiming for a similar feat and is optimistic about his prospects.
‘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 (pictured) has progressed to the quarter-final stage of the boys’ singles event at Wimbledon
Cruz (pictured with his legendary father Lleyton) is proving he’s one of Australia’s brightest young tennis talents
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.’