16-year-old Cruz Hewitt makes first steps in emulating father Lleyton Hewitt but falls short in first senior final

Cruz Hewitt reached his maiden senior final at the ITF M25 tournament in Launceston but he fell short and couldn't replicate what his father Lleyton Hewitt did and win a title at this age.

The 16-year-old son of the Aussie legend who won his first pro title albeit in a better field which featured Andre Agassi and other players who became tennis legends will no doubt follow the rising Aussie around in terms of comparisons.

But the expectations have always been tempered. Leo Borg for instance was a great example of a player who has not emulated his dad but got opportunities in his earlier career due to the family name.

Hewitt has benefited of sorts due to that but on home soil where he has received wildcards to tournaments but has proven this week that the talent is in fact there. He lost both in qualifying and boys tournament at the Australian Open earlier in the season albeit to vastly superior opposition.

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But brought an army of fans with him for that and also gleamed knowledge off Jannik Sinner controversially with Nick Kyrgios criticising him for doing so as well as Carlos Alcaraz so it has been a great year and it has got better.

He reeled off six straight wins as a qualifier to reach the third tier final and was well beaten 6-2, 6-4 by the veteran Jason Kubler. The latter has already won titles this season and is a former World No.68 so was the quality of the field.

Albeit with his father Lleyton in attendance, shaking off the legendary Aussie is not likely but he is certainly forging his own path and bouncing back after early losses in recent weeks.

“It was a great week,” Hewitt said after finishing runner-up in Launceston.

“Thanks for all the support this week, I really appreciate it. It got me through a lot of tough matches. And congrats to Kubler, back-to-back in Tassie. A good few weeks for him, and I’m really pleased with the tennis I’m playing now.

“Every match (I) try to learn something, try and learn from mistakes and keep getting better every day.”

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