Lleyton Hewitt courtside as son Cruz falls in Launceston final
One of Australia’s greatest tennis players was courtside for his son’s first final, but even the presence of Lleyton couldn’t propel Cruz Hewitt to victory in Sunday’s Launceston International decider.
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It could be debated who was more rapt to spot Lleyton Hewitt courtside at the Launceston International final - his son Cruz, or opponent Jason Kubler.
After congratulating 16-year-old Cruz on his week, Kubler, who completed a memorable two weeks in Tasmania with a 6-2 6-4 victory on Sunday, couldn’t resist a shoutout to one of his heroes.
“Lleyton thanks for coming out today,” he said.
“I grew up watching you, so any time I can play a match in front of you, even if it is against your son Cruz, it’s special for me.
“I appreciate you making the effort to come down.”
Hewitt junior showed more signs he could be on a similar path to his famous father with a memorable week which will ensure his current world ranking of 1176 skyrockets.
A seventh match this week may have been a bridge too far for the youngster. He began well by taking the first two games of the match, before Kubler reeled off eight straight games to take a decisive 6-2 2-0 lead.
The 31-year-old, who combined with Rinky Hijikata to win the Australian Open men’s doubles title in 2023, has dominated the Tasmania circuit.
On the comeback trail after knee injuries sidelined him for most of last year, the win followed his tournament victory at last week’s Burnie International.
“This week I wasn’t sure how I’d pull up after Burnie. It’s the first time I’ve had to back up going deep into a tournament,” he said.
“It gives me confidence, these two tournaments have definitely helped that. I was struggling at the start of the year and wasn’t sure what my level would be, but now I can have more confidence in my body.
“I want to say congratulations to Cruz. Damn man, you’re playing good. I felt like a month and a half ago it wasn’t like this but now I’m being pushed to the limit.
“Lucky I can get him early (in his career) and get a win and who knows from there, he might overtake me.
Cruz came back from a set down on three separate occasions earlier in the ITF event, but Kubler’s consistency was too much to overcome.
“It’s back to back weeks (wins) in Tassie, a good few weeks for him and I’m super pleased with how I’m playing tennis now,” Hewitt said.
“Every match I try and learn something, learn from the mistakes and keep getting better every day.
“I go to Indian Wells next week. Hopefully I just keep working with my coaches and it leads to bigger and better things.”
Kubler said he was shocked by the crowd turnout, with the centre court stands packed for the decider.
“It was pretty packed, and I was actually taken aback a bit when I walked out about how many people were here,” Kubler said.
“I’m super impressed because it’s cool to play in front of a crowd like this.”
In the women’s decider, Townsville product Lizette Cabrera was too strong for Japan’s Sakura Hosogi.
The fourth seed needed 79 minutes to notch a 7-5 6-2 victory.
“It was a good battle and we had some long games, but I executed my game plan really well in the second set,” she said.
“I’m hoping to be back inside the ‘quallies’ ranking (later this year).
Originally published as Lleyton Hewitt courtside as son Cruz falls in Launceston final
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