A son of a legend has thrust his name into the spotlight at Wimbledon, brightening what has been a challenging fortnight at the All England Club for Australians.
Cruz Hewitt, whose father Lleyton is the last Australian man to win the prestigious title back in 2002, became the first Aussie to reach the last eight in the Wimbledon boys’ singles since Alex de Minaur with a strong triumph on Wednesday.
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On a day where de Minaur, the boys’ finalist in 2016, vowed on social media that he would keep fighting after a dispiriting exit from Wimbledon on Monday, Hewitt outpointed one of the world’s most highly-rated juniors in the third round.
In what was effectively a trans-Tasman battle against No.2 seed Jamie Mackenzie, who hails from New Zealand but is now representing Germany, the Sydneysider produced a poised performance to win 6-3 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals.
The 17-year-old, who had not played a junior match since the US Open last year, is demonstrating he is a more than capable talent after spending this year focusing on lower-tier senior tournaments.
Preceding Wimbledon the right-hander won a round in qualifying for a strong ATP Challenger event in Dublin that featured top Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and injury-plagued Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, who has a big match of his own on Thursday.
Currently ranked 606, Hewitt featured in qualifying at the Australian Open in January when beaten in straight sets by Michael Zheng, which is no disgrace given the American college student has subsequently played every major this year.
Hewitt, who occasionally practices with de Minaur, also made the quarterfinals of a Challenger event in Brisbane in February and the final of a strong ITF tournament on grass in Wodonga as well.
The experience of playing against men helped against McKenzie, a strong-bodied junior who is built like a rugby union player and lived in New Zealand until 12 before heading to Germany to further his development on the court.
Now coached by former Australian Davis Cup representative Wayne Arthurs, Hewitt arrived at Wimbledon in good form after winning an invitational event on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina shortly before the junior event.
With his dad Lleyton, who later won a legends doubles outing alongside Fabio Fognini, and mum Bec watching from the stands on Court 12, Hewitt started well when breaking a rival nicknamed “the red rocket” in the fourth game of the match.
Now standing almost 190cm and notably bulkier than when at the All England Club 12 months ago, the teenager has built his serve under the tutelage of Arthurs who, while a left-hander, had one of the best serves on tour during his career.
This helped him survive all four of the break points he faced against Mackenzie, with a couple of those coming in the first couple of games, and he was able to save another two at 3-all in the second set in a pivotal moment in the match.
Only French sensation Moise Kouame, who reached the third round at Roland Garros last month, is ranked higher than the Australian in his age group and while he has significant ground to make, it is indisputable that Hewitt is making progress.
He told The Age earlier this week he has “unfinished business” in junior events after struggling throughout 2025 in majors and believes he is capable to becoming Australia’s first boys winner at Wimbledon since Luke Saville in 2011.
While de Minaur was the best performed Australian in singles when reaching the last 16, there has been success in doubles events with Thursday shaping as a significant day for a number of players.
Kokkinakis, who is on the comeback trail from a career-threatening pectoral problem, will play a doubles semi-final alongside Aleksandar Kovacevic against former champions and No.1 seeds Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara.
After the women’s semi-finals are finished on Centre Court, doubles star Storm Hunter will partner Melburnian Marc Polmans in the mixed final against former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Arevalo.