Tennis legend’s son crashes out of Australian Open | Sports News

Cruz Hewitt received’t be making an inspiring qualifying run on the Australian Open like his father, Lleyton, after struggling yet one more early exit at Melbourne Park.

Despite going toe-to-toe with Zheng for a lot of the primary set — which stayed on serve for the opening six video games — Hewitt misplaced momentum upon having his serve damaged halfway via. The American got here out firing within the second set with one other early break, however the Aussie managed to make up some ground with two breaks of his own.

In the top, Hewitt’s lack of ability to command his serve finally led to his downfall, as he surrendered six double faults over the course of the lopsided match. The disappointing end result marked the second straight Australian Open through which the 17-year-old has been eradicated within the first spherical of qualifying.

Lleyton, in the meantime, sped via qualifying on the Open as a 15-year-old wildcard back in 1997 en route to creating 20 consecutive principal draw appearances and turning into World No. 1. Speaking to reporters on the 2024 Newcombe Medal, Hewitt claimed that he pays little consideration to the comparisons between himself and his dad.

“It is what it is, but I don’t really mind,” he mentioned on the time. “It just drives me to be better.”

As Lleyton acknowledged, nonetheless, Hewitt has handled the surface noise for a lot of his life. “Oh, they’ve already been there — ever since he picked up a racket,” he mentioned of the comparisons. “He’s just got to enjoy it as much as possible and make it fun. He’s been doing great so far.”

While Hewitt didn’t obtain the outcomes he would’ve preferred at this yr’s Open, one of his compatriots loved a much better expertise in Melbourne. Storm Hunter secured a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Georgia’s Ekaterine Gorgodze on Kia Arena after being pressured to overlook the 2025 Grand Slam whereas rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

“I was like, ‘Wow, I’m missing out, and don’t know if I’m going to be back’,” she recalled. “So to just get the win today felt amazing.”

Fresh off her assertion win, Hunter expressed confidence that she might surge her strategy to the primary draw. “I can beat anyone. And I have qualified here at the Aussie Open, qualified at Wimbledon, qualified at the French,” she mentioned. “So I know what it takes, but same time, I know how hard it is to do it. To be honest, it’s incredibly difficult to qualify, and I’m just going to take it day by day.”