Aussie tennis great Lleyton Hewitt has delivered a standout performance alongside his son Cruz, rolling back the years in a dominant doubles win at the NSW Open.
The 44-year-old former world No.1 showed flashes of his trademark competitiveness on Wednesday night as the pair defeated fellow Australians Hayden Jones and Pavle Marinkov 6-1 6-0 at Ken Rosewall Arena.
The match lasted just 46 minutes but still provided spectators with a series of impressive moments.
Cruz, who turns 17 next month, delivered several sharp plays – including a passing shot down the line that prompted his father to call out, “Shot, mant!”
Speaking courtside after the match, Hewitt said the opportunity to compete with his son was a rare and meaningful experience.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said.
“Obviously a little bit unknown coming out here today, and it’s nice coming back on this court. I’ve had a lot of special memories and this is right up there.
“It’s something that I don’t think many fathers get the chance to do, so to be able to come out and him obviously being good enough at this level now is pretty impressive at his age.
“Even though I’m getting up there, we sort of matched at the right time, so it was nice.”
The father-son duo will next meet Calum Puttergill and Dane Sweeny in the quarter-finals later on Thursday.
Hewitt officially retired in 2016 but made a return to doubles in 2018 and again in 2019, before one final series of appearances in the summer of 2020.
He partnered Jordan Thompson in both Adelaide and the Australian Open that year, exiting in the first round of each tournament.
Now serving as Australia’s Davis Cup captain, Hewitt said he was inspired to return to competition after watching Cruz’s rapid development in recent years.
Their commanding performance has sparked calls from fans for the pair to be handed a future Australian Open wildcard.
“Lleyton + Cruz Hewitt is the doubles pair we needed. Hope they play at AO26,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “Anyone thinking an Australian Open doubles wildcard could come to Lleyton Hewitt and Cruz if things continue to go well?”
“Wasn’t aware lleyton Hewitt still plays tennis. Him playing doubles with his son is way cooler than LeBron playing with bronny,” a third commented.
Images: Tennis Australia
