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News.com.au
08-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
‘Not fine': Cruz Hewitt snaps at father Lleyton during second-round Wimbledon exit
Cruz Hewitt has been knocked out of the Wimbledon boy's singles tournament during a frustrating match in which he repeatedly took aim at his tennis legend father Lleyton. Cruz, The 16-year-old Aussie, who is 45th in the world junior rankings, fell in straight sets 6-3, 6-0 on Tuesday morning (AEST) to Finland's 11th seed Oskari Paldanius. Cruz was spotted becoming increasing frustrated as he lost control of the second-round match, an began taking his frustration out on his father who was attempted to coach him from the stands. As reported by the Daily Mail, Cruz at one point accused Lleyton of 'acting for the cameras' before snapping back at a piece of coaching from his father with the reply 'I tried that!' In response to his team telling him 'everything was fine' in the second set, Cruz reportedly replied, 'it's not fine, it's nearly four-love!' It was all a far cry from the cool, calm and collected Cruz Hewitt who delighted Wimbledon crowds in the opening round on Sunday with his 6-1 6-2 victory over Russia's Savva Rybkin. 23 years after his dad Lleyton won the men's title at Wimbledon, fans on the famous grass courts couldn't help but draw comparisons between the father and son. 'Same backwards cap, same Yonex racket, same Nike heritage polo, same attitude. A carbon copy,' tennis commentator Bastien Fachan wrote on X, echoing the thoughts of fans across the globe. Hewitt 2.0 was almost untouchable in the opening match in the boys singles. 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. 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.
News.com.au
06-07-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Cruz Hewitt follows father Lleyton and wins on Wimbledon debut
Cruz Hewitt, son of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, followed in his father's footsteps with victory on his debut at the All England Club on Sunday. With Hewitt Sr watching on from the stands, the 16-year-old rolled over Russia's Savva Rybkin 6-1 6-2 in the first round of the boys' competition. Cruz, who sported a back-to-front cap that was his father's trademark style, made the second round of the juniors competition at the Australian Open earlier this year after losing in the first round of qualifying for the men's event. He will next face Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius next. Lleyton, who also won the 2001 US Open during his decorated career, remains the last Australian man to win a Grand Slam singles title. Earlier this year, Cruz Hewitt says he feels no pressure carrying the famous family name declaring his goal is to one day surpass his father's feats on a tennis court. The son of former world No.1 and two-time grand slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, Cruz is forging his own path in professional tennis and has set himself the lofty goal of one day surpassing his father. 'There's definitely pros and cons (to being a Hewitt) but I try to focus on the good things that come with it,' he told Channel 9. 'The pressure doesn't bother me too much, I feel like it's kind of a challenge to, you know, be better than him, so that's what I'm trying to do.' Cruz got his first taste of top-flight tennis in January when he was handed a qualifying wildcard for the Australian Open. But the fixturing gods gave the 16-year-old no favours as he was knocked out in the first round of qualifying by former top-20 player Nikoloz Basilashvili in straight sets. Later, his Junior Australian Open run ended at the hands of junior world No.1 Jan Kumstat, 6-3 7-6. 'It's good to be here and it was great to get the opportunity to play in the men's qualifying,' Cruz said. 'I think it was a great step forward and I learned a lot from the experience with the crowd and just playing those men's players instead of the junior players. 'I feel like playing the men, every point is the same level and there's no let-up (whereas) in juniors, you get a few cheaper points here and there.'
The Independent
27-06-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Who is Mingge Xu? Emma Raducanu's first-round Wimbledon opponent in profile
Four summers ago, Emma Raducanu was the British teenager aiming to become Wimbledon champion. This summer, she will be trying to stop a British teenager at the first hurdle: Mingge Xu. This year's Wimbledon draw paired Raducanu, 22, with Xu, 17, in the first round, as Raducanu begins her latest bid to add to her 2021 US Open triumph. Raducanu endeared herself to tennis fans at Wimbledon 2021 while making a fine run to the fourth round, before surpassing that achievement in September of the same year, when she won her first – and so far only – grand slam, the US Open. Raducanu has struggled for consistency since, and her deepest run at SW19 remains the fourth round, which she reached again last year, while she enters this summer's Wimbledon on the back of a second-round exit at the last major, the French Open. In any case, she has considerably more grand-slam experience than Xu, who has been handed a wildcard to play at a major for the first time on the pro tour. Swansea's Xu – the first Welsh player in the main singles draw at Wimbledon in 20 years – reached the junior Australian Open quarter-finals last year and junior US Open semi-finals, showing promise along the way. But her meeting with Raducanu comes at an altogether tougher level, and in front of a much greater audience. Still, Xu's Wimbledon debut follows her encouraging wildcard run at the Birmingham Open this June, where she stunned top seed Alycia Parks, the world No 52, in the first round. Xu went on to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 125 tournament, ultimately losing to Jessika Ponchet. Then, later in June, Xu notched another win over a top-100 player, beating world No 96 Katie Volynets in the first round of the Nottingham Open. However, Xu was defeated by sixth seed Magda Linette in the next round. Xu's current ranking on the WTA tour is her highest so far: 318th in the world. Meanwhile, Raducanu is the British No 1 on the women's tour and is currently ranked at No 38 in the world, having been as high as No 10 in 2022. Raducanu enters her clash with Xu on the back of a quarter-final at Queen's, where she was beaten by top seed Qinwen Zheng, and a second-round exit in Eastbourne, where she was eliminated by Maya Joint. Ahead of her Eastbourne opener, Raducanu praised Wimbledon for banning a man who had stalked her from buying tickets to the grass-court grand slam. The man in question had been following her at several events over the last year. He was handed a restraining order by police in Dubai after turning up at the Dubai Tennis Championships and appearing at Raducanu's match, a moment that left her afraid and in tears. But Wimbledon's security system raised a red flag after the man's recent attempt to buy tickets for SW19 this year, with the application subsequently rejected. 'Wimbledon did an amazing job,' Raducanu told the BBC. 'I got a notification, and the police contacted me and assured me that everything was okay. 'I feel okay, I feel comfortable and safe. I've had great protection whenever I've been at these events recently. I feel a difference, and that makes me feel more comfortable.'
