Tennis fans stunned by staggering Cruz Hewitt development
The son of Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has stunned fans with an Instagram post of himself and global star Carlos Alcaraz.
The future of Australian tennis might be arriving sooner than we thought.
Cruz Hewitt, the 15-year-old son of two-time grand slam winner Lleyton Hewitt, has showcased his incredible growth spurt in a pair of Instagram photos.
The first shows Cruz at the 2021 Australian Open with current world number three Carlos Alcaraz.
Fast forward three and a half years and the comparison between the two is incredible.
Cruz, who secured the first win of his professional career last month as he attempts to repeat his father’s rapid rise in the sport at a young age, now appears to be slightly taller than the 183cm Spanish star.
“How’s there only 3.5 years between these photos of Lleyton Hewitt’s son and Alcaraz,” tennis influencer Bastien Fachan tweeted.
“Lil big man now,” wrote Aussie athletics great John Steffensen.
Aussie tennis fans were also salivating at the staggering development.
“Certainly grew a lot in a short time!” another fan wrote in a reply to the post.
“How’s bro taller than him,” added another.
“Wimbledon final within five years,” wrote another.
Another added: “No doubting who his father is.”
Cruz’s victory over then world number 993 Thijmen Loof in an ITF 15k event in Bali in August already gave him one bragging point over his father, who didn’t secure a main draw win on the pro circuit until he was 16.
But Lleyton’s rise from that point was meteoric. After entering the rankings in 1997, he won his first tournament the following year - beating Andre Agassi on the way to a hometown victory in Adelaide.
Three years later he was the number one player in the world.
Cruz has often had a front-row seat to greatness because of Lleyton’s ongoing role as Australia’s Davis Cup captain.
He is regularly spotted in the stands and on the warm-up courts at grand slams, hitting with some of the world’s best players.
He is expected to line up with Australia’s junior Davis Cup team in November before attempting to improve on his first round exit in the boys’ singles at the 2024 Australian Open, when his home grand slam begins in January next year.
Cruz is the middle child of Lleyton and wife Bec’s three kids.
The couple met at a charity tennis tournament in 1999 and were engaged after just six weeks of dating in a whirlwind romance.
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