Ex-tennis No.1 wins first match out of retirement in 48 mins with son | Tennis | Sport
Lleyton Hewitt made a winning return to tennis as he came out of retirement to team up with his 16-year-old son, Cruz. The former world No. 1 had not played a match in almost six years but that didn’t stop him from storming through to beat Hayden Jones and Pavle Marinkov 6-1 6-0 in just 48 minutes.
The father-son duo received a wildcard into the main draw of the NSW Open – a Challenger event in Sydney – and they made the most of it. Sporting his signature backwards cap, Hewitt and his son saved all four break points they faced to reach the quarter-finals in quicktime.
Two-time Grand Slam champion Hewitt played his last singles match in 2016 but did not retire from doubles until the 2020 Australian Open. But there were no signs of rust in Wednesday’s match, and the 44-year-old looked right at home on the Ken Rosewall Arena and clinched victory with a winner at the net.
Hewitt has stayed involved with tennis since retiring. He’s the captain of Australia’s Davis Cup team and has often been spotted cheering on his son, Cruz, who has formed a career of his own. The teenager has competed at the junior Grand Slam tournaments and is starting to move up to the Challenger circuit.
Cruz competed in the Wimbledon boys’ singles event earlier this year, where he lost his cool with his dad, who was sitting in his box. The 16-year-old won his opening match but suffered a 6-3 6-0 defeat to Oskari Paldanius in the second round.
According to the Daily Mail, the current world No. 759 accused his dad of “acting for the cameras” and repeatedly turned down Hewitt’s advice, shaking his head and telling his dad: “I tried that!
After going 0-3 down in the second set, Cruz’s camp tried to reassure him, but the teenager snapped: “It’s not fine, it’s nearly four-love!”
While Cruz has had some frustrating moments on the tennis court – also losing in the first round of men’s Australian Open qualifying this year – he’s been making strides at Challenger level in recent weeks.
Hewitt’s son earned his first win at Challenger level in Brisbane last week, beating world No. 192 James McCabe before losing to Wu Tung-lin in three sets. He got another win in the singles draw in Brisbane before bowing out in round two.
Currently ranked at a career-high of No. 759, Cruz defeated countryman Omar Jasika and then suffered a 5-7 6-3 7-5 defeat to Matsuoka Hayato, before getting on the doubles court with his dad and storming into the quarter-finals. They will face another all-Aussie duo, Calum Puttergill and Dane Sweeny, in their next match together.
