Lleyton Hewitt's 16-year-old son Cruz Hewitt reaches maiden ITF final, close to emulating legendary father
ATP
Cruz Hewitt is into his first ever ITF final after reaching his maiden championship match on Friday against the odds. This could yet be the start of the 16-year-old emulating his legendary father, Lleyton Hewitt.
Hewitt saw off Ethan Cook and Dane Sweeney both in three sets fighting past the duo in the ITF M25 event in Launceston. He only needed two sets to seal what was his biggest win to date against Yu Hsiou Hsu in the Quarter-Finals.
Albeit he did have to come back from 4-5, 15-30 down to secure the 7-5, 7-5 win in the end. Hewitt again had a higher ranked opponent between himself and the finaal as he overturned a break deficit in the deciding set to beat South Korea's Sanhui Shin who is ranked 672 in the world 7-6, 1-6, 6-3.
At the age of just 16, he is into his first final and could face Jason Kubler formerly World No.63 or it will be Christian Langmo. Ironically the pair have already played this year in Challenger Tour won by Kubler as he secured a 6-4, 6-4 win to reach the final in Brisbane last month.
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If Hewitt manages to win, he will emulate his father who also won his first title as a teenager when he won the Australian Men's Hardcourt Championships. He was 17 when he won the ATP World Series event and he came from outside the top 500. He beat Andre Agassi in the semi-finals before seeing off Jason Stoltenberg.
Cruz of course will have pressure on him due to the name he carries but in reality, expectations are only carried with the surname as he looks to surge his own way into the history books instead of relying on his father's name to get chances.
Leo Borg for instance has had a stop start time of it and was often rewarded for having the surname but in reality wasn't up to his father's high bar.
Cruz Hewitt (1147) comes back from 0-1 (0-40) down on return in the 3d set to defeat Sanhui Shin (672) 7-6, 1-6, 6-3.
— edgeAI (@edgeAIapp) March 1, 2025
The 16 year old reaches his first ITF final in Launceston.
Awaits former world No.63 Kubler or Langmo in the final. pic.twitter.com/mCiqZJZws1
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
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