Son of Aussie legend Lleyton Hewitt receives Australian Open Qualifying wildcard

Son of the former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, Cruz Hewitt, has received a wildcard to play in the qualifying round of the Australian Open. The development was confirmed by the Tennis.com.au.

The development is an interesting one as his father, Lleyton, also appeared in the qualifying round for the first time at the age of 20. He then went on top appear in the mega-event 20 times. The list regarding players who received a number of include the likes of former world number 17 Bernard Tomic, Jason Kubler and Alex Bolt.

Cruz is currently ranked 1,264 in the ATP rankings, whereas he is currently ranked 107th in the ITF. In the previous season, the youngster showcased his skills and produced some impressive results at the junior level. He played 45 matches across all competitions, winning 32 times and suffering defeats on 13 occasions. While doing so, he won three titles at the junior level as well. His most recent title was the J1000 in Christchurch, where he defeated Lachlan Mcfadzean in the final with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Lleyton had a very successful career at the highest level. The Adelaide-born finished his career with two Grand Slam titles but interestingly, none of them came while playing at home soil. In the Australian Open, the former world number one’s most impressive performance came while playing in the 2005 edition, where he lost to former Russian tennis star Marat Safin in the final with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.