Lleyton Hewitt sees bright future for son Cruz: "It’s every kid’s dream to play in a Grand Slam"

Lleyton Hewitt discussed the development of his 15-year-old son, Cruz, as a tennis player. The former world No. 1 believes his son has the potential to reach the top level and even stated that he could grow “easily taller than me.”

Cruz is preparing for a new opportunity at the upcoming Australian Open Junior. He won two consecutive ITF junior titles in August and then secured his first professional victory at an ITF event in Bali, defeating Dutch player Thijmen Loof, who is seven years older.

“Most likely he’ll be playing in the juniors, which is pretty awesome for him again,” Lleyton Hewitt said on Thursday. “He got the experience of being there earlier this year and then (gets) to come back. And I think it’s every kid’s dream to play in a Grand Slam, but we’re very fortunate being in this country that we get it in our backyard as well. He’s obviously seen a lot of these players before him that have played, so it’s pretty exciting.”

The two-time Grand Slam champion acknowledged that he is baffled by his son’s ability to remain distant from the attention he generates. “I don’t think he focuses on it too much – he’s like most kids these days, they just go about their thing,” Lleyton said. “One thing – he’s never been shy of playing on big courts or in front of people, so he sort of takes it in his stride.”

Cruz, who will turn 16 in December, has already had the experience of traveling with the Davis Cup team in Australia, serving as a sparring partner for Thanasi Kokkinakis and Alex De Minaur during training sessions. “It’s his journey, and it’s a very long journey, and he’s only just got his first ATP point, which is fantastic to start somewhere – but it does feel like a bloody long journey.”