Cruz Hewitt, son of former World No.1 and two-time major champion Lleyton, made waves earlier this month when he reached the boys’ singles final at Wimbledon.
Today he made an even bigger wave, crashing over the DC Citi Open with throwback energy and the infectious enthusiasm that only a 17-year-old can possess.
In his first ATP-level match qualifier Hewitt blasted past American veteran Marcos Giron, 6-3, 6-4 to become the youngest match winner in DC since Kei Nishikori in 2007.
“It’s pretty surreal to win here,” Hewitt said in his post-match press conference. “Obviously I saw my dad played here. I came to his last tournament I remember. There are so many memories of that.
“To get it around the line and make it to round 2, it’s very special.”
Hewitt says he remembered attending the tournament with his father in 2015, as his father made his eighth and final apperance in DC.
“I remember being in the locker room, and I remember making [my dad’s] protein shake, all that, in the locker room, and just being around him on the practice court,” he said. “I remember I did an interview with him, as well, and now sitting here doing my own interview, it’s surreal.”
Hewitt was never broken and notched a break in each set to take out the California native in 73 minutes. He punctuated his triumph with a hand-to-head Vicht salute, the exact one made famous by his father in the early aughts.
It’s a remarkable victory for Hewitt, ranked 612, and nearly a half-year shy of his 18th birthday. His father won the DC title in 2004. The younger Hewitt will have to get through either top-seeded Alex de Minaur or Stefanos Tsitsipas in his second-round match to keep that dream alive.
With the win, Hewitt became the fourth man born in 2008 or later to win a tour-level match (excluding Davis Cup). The other three are Diego Dedura, Thijs Boogaard and Moise Kouame.
He’s already up 255 places to No.357 in the ATP live rankings and could break the Top 300 with another win.
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