Tennis world all saying the same thing as Cruz Hewitt delights Wimbledon
Tennis fans were rubbing their eyes as they watched an Aussie in a backwards cap fist pump his way to a win at Wimbledon.
Tennis
Don't miss out on the headlines from Tennis. Followed categories will be added to My News.
“Same backwards cap, same Yonex racket, same Nike heritage polo, same attitude. A carbon copy.”
Tennis commentator Bastien Fachan echoed the thoughts of fans across the globe as Cruz Hewitt grabbed his first Wimbledon win overnight Sunday, 23 years after his dad Lleyton won the title.
Hewitt 2.0 was almost untouchable in his opening match in the boys singles, thumping Russia’s Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2 to reach the final 32.
With his dad watching and fist-pumping from the stands, Cruz looked eerily similar to his old man as he guided two-fisted backhands down the line and roared in celebration.
Cruz, who will play Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius in the next round, also won his opening match at the Australian Open juniors earlier this year before losing a tight match against the top seed in the tournament.
Only 16, Cruz is hoping to emulate the famous feats of his father, which included victory over David Nalbandian in the 2002 Wimbledon men’s singles final.
Lleyton, who also won the 2001 US Open during his decorated career, remains the last Australian man to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Big names through to quarters
Carlos Alcaraz remains on track to win this year’s edition after recording a four set-win against Andrey Rublev to move through to the final eight.
The defending champion recovered from losing a first set tie-breaker to win 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Alcaraz will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the last eight. He is hoping to become the fifth man in the Open era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Novak Djokovic.
With Emma Raducanu watching on inside the stadium, Alcaraz’s shot-making got hotter and hotter as the match progressed.
Earlier, Aryna Sabalenka overcame a battling Elise Mertens to also reach the quarter-finals.
World number one Sabalenka has yet to drop a set in four rounds at the All England Club as every other top six seed has fallen, but was given a tough workout by Belgian world number 23 Mertens.
The Belarusian came through 6-4 7-6 (7/4) against her former doubles partner under the closed roof on Centre Court to set up a clash against Germany’s Laura Siegemund.
The three-time Grand Slam champion is making up for lost time after missing last year’s Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury. She was excluded in 2022 as part of a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.
“With your support guys I think everything is possible,” said Sabalenka, who has never been beyond the semi-finals at the All England Club.
‘Simply pathetic’: Controversy erupts
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova also progressed at the expense of Britain’s Sonay Kartal, but had to mentally reset after a bizarre electronic line-calling failure.
At 4-4 in the first set, Pavlyuchenkova held game point when a Kartal backhand landed clearly over the baseline but no call came and the umpire ordered the point be replayed.
Kartal went on to break for a 5-4 lead.
Pavlyuchenkova angrily made her case to the umpire, saying: “They stole the game from me, they stole it”.
She was also heard saying: “Because she is local they can say whatever, you took the game away from me”.
“Simply PATHETIC situation on Centre Court,” tweeted tennis journalist Jose Morgado. “Pavlyuchenkova just lost a game that ... she won.”
But the Russian broke back and won the tie-break, which proved a launch pad for a 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 victory.
The technology glitch in the fourth-round match follows concerns raised by other players.
The All England Club released a brief statement on the incident. “Due to operator error the system was deactivated on the point in question,” said an spokesman. “The chair umpire followed the established process.”
Pavlyuchenkova was blunt when asked about the chair umpire after the match, saying the official was likely “scared” to make a big call.
“They’re very good at giving fines though and code violations,” she said of officials.
“This, they don’t miss.”
Late drama as quarter-finals locked in
Russia’s Karen Khachanov was the first winner of the day, brushing aside Polish player Kamil Majchrzak 6-4 6-2 6-3 on Court Two.
He will face US fifth seed Taylor Fritz, who was only on court for 41 minutes before Australia’s Jordan Thompson retired injured, trailing 6-1 3-0.
America’s Fritz faced gruelling five-set battles in his opening two matches but it was a different story in his fourth-round encounter on Court One.
The Eastbourne champion broke Thompson twice to seal the first set in just 21 minutes and led 3-0 in the second set when the Australian decided he could not go on, due to an apparent thigh injury.
Norrie, meanwhile, needed five sets to make it through after battling Nicolas Jarry for four hours and 27 minutes.
Norrie collapsed on court after pulling off the 6-3 7-6 6-7 6-7 6-3 victory.
You can watch the incident in the video player above.
Jarry appeared to be irate about the time Norrie took between his serves, and let rip at the umpire without his shirt on during a break between the second and third set.
At the end of the match, Jarry then squared up to Norrie and carried on complaining before storming off the court.
The Chilean moaned to the umpire after the second set: “What is the rule? It is your interpretation, it isn’t good. Is it normal to do that when it affects the other player? Do you intervene or do I have to suck it?
“It doesn’t matter the reason. It’s not intentional but you have to apply the code. He can stop doing it, it is not a nervous tick, it is something he can control. That doesn’t make it correct.
“I just have to suck it because he always does it? That’s the reason I have to play with something that affects me. It can be changed.
“If there is not a rule then tell me and I cannot do anything about it.”
The pair exchanged words as they shook hands at the net, prompting some booing from the crowd.
Jarry went to Norrie after the Brit had returned to his chair to smooth the situation over.
The day’s action ended with more drama as American Amanda Anisimova came from a break down in the third set to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time since 2022.
Anisimova appeared in control of her match against Linda Noskova after taking the first set, but needed to show plenty of courage to close it out 6-2 5-7 6-4.
Gentlemen’s quarter-finals
Taylor Fritz (5) vs Karen Khachanov (17)
Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs Cam Norrie
Ladies’ quarter-finals
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs Laura Siegemund
Amanda Anisimova (13) vs Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
- with AFP
Originally published as Tennis world all saying the same thing as Cruz Hewitt delights Wimbledon
How 9yo Chase fought cancer and became a tennis champion
Chase Hoogsteden was once too weak to walk after a shock leukaemia diagnosis. He’s now an under-10 tennis champion - and his comeback is as remarkable as it is inspiring.
Serena transformation, shock comeback
Tennis champion Serena Williams has sent fans into frenzy after sharing a recent clip of her back on the tennis court.