Cruz Hewitt ‘valiant’ in opening round French Open defeat

Cruz Hewitt has impressed in a tough match at the French Open, showing shades of his dad Lleyton in a valiant performance.

Cruz Hewitt has given a glimpse of his old man’s famous fighting spirit in his first round match at the French Open.

The son of Lleyton Hewitt had stormed through qualifying to secure a spot in the junior boys’ tournament at Roland Garros.

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Cruz took on Italian Pierluigi Basile overnight on Sunday in a hard fought match, ultimately going down 7-6 (7-4) 5-7 6-3.

A very tight first set was claimed by Basile, who is two years older than Hewitt and higher in the world junior rankings.

But the 16-year-old Aussie fought back to win the second set on Court No. 4, with Cruz revving up the crowd with a gritty performance reminiscent of his dad.

Pierluigi Basile of Italy beat the Aussie in a three-set match. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Cruz Hewitt lost no admirers with his performance. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

Basile had too much firepower and went on to win the third set, claiming the marathon match in two hours and 10 minutes as Cruz fell short of the second round.

The teenager made the second round of the Australian Open juniors in January, where he lost in the first round in qualifiers for the men’s tournament.

Tennis Australia said Hewitt, the world No. 41 junior, was “valiant” in his first round loss, recording 10 aces in the defeat.

Cruz Hewitt is making his way in the junior tennis ranks. (Photo by Adam Pretty/Getty Images)

There has been mixed success for Australia’s contingent at the French Open, with Alex de Minaur losing in five sets in the second round to Alexander Bublik.

Alexei Popyrin progressed to the fourth round before suffering a 6-3 6-3 6-3 defeat to American Tommy Paul.

In the women’s draw, newly adopted Australia Daria Kasatkina takes on Russian teen sensation Mirra Andreeva in the fourth round on Monday night (AEST).

Another Aussie, Ty Host takes on the USA’s Benjamin Willwerth in their boys’ singles first round.

In the girls’ singles first round, Australia’s Emerson Jones is the top seed and will take on American qualifier Capucine Jauffet.

Jones, who has been mentioned as Ash Barty’s successor, is aiming to reach her third junior grand slam final after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Australian boys’ No. 2 Ty Host opens his account against reigning Australian Open boys’ finalist Benjamin Willwerth. Host hopes to become the first Australian boys’ singles champion in France since Popyrin in 2017.

Originally published as Cruz Hewitt ‘valiant’ in opening round French Open defeat