The teenager long ago outgrew his legendary father, has been prominent at the Davis Cup, and has already sparked an off-court controversy with Nick Kyrgios. Yet Cruz Hewitt hasn’t yet made his formal Australian Open debut.
The son of former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt is just 16, but at 6ft 2 already towers over his father – Australia’s Davis Cup captain and two-time grand slam winner.
And despite ranking in the 1200s and with just six ATP rankings points to his name – world No 1 Jannik Sinner has 11,030 – Hewitt Jr has already become the talking point in the grand slam’s opening week.
Preparing for this week’s qualifier against the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, the Australian shared a practice hit with defending champion Sinner at Melbourne Park over the weekend.
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Afterwards, the teenager posted an image of the session alongside an older photo of the pair from five years ago, when Hewitt barely measured up to Sinner’s chest.
The post sparked a social media storm thanks to a comment from fellow Aussie Kyrgios, who has been outspoken in his criticism of players who receive doping violations. Sinner tested positive for a banned substance last year but avoided a ban.
“Love ya Cruz but this is wild,” Kyrgios replied to Hewitt’s post, before adding “cooked post” with a needle emoji. Following widespread backlash, Kyrgios sought to play down his intervention, saying the comments were a joke.
It diverted attention from Hewitt’s highly anticipated debut, almost 30 years after his father qualified for the first of his 20 consecutive main draw appearances at Melbourne Park in 1997, aged 15.
The 16-year-old has already played in the boy’s championship at Melbourne Park, and though his tournament last year ended after just one match, it provided a glimpse of his promise.
As he stands 4 inches taller than his father, Hewitt’s serve has become a weapon. But he showed in last year’s foray in Melbourne he wasn’t afraid to turn to an all-round game tuned by his coach, the former ATP journeyman and clay court specialist Peter Luczak, who also works with Alex De Minaur.
The elder Hewitt, who has placed his son courtside at Davis Cup contests in the past year, gave reporters an insight into Cruz’s approach at the launch of the Australian Open in October.
“One thing he’s never been shy of is playing on big courts or in front of people,” he said. “He takes it in his stride, it’s his journey, and it’s a very long journey.”
The 16-year-old said at the Newcombe medal awards he doesn’t mind comparisons with his father, who has helped secure training opportunities with some of the world’s best, including at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
Suggestions of favouritism serve as motivation for the teenager. “It is what it is, but I don’t really mind,” he said. “It just drives me to be better.” – Guardian
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