Aussie tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt’s son Cruz brings up his first big professional win as he follows in his dad’s footsteps

Cruz Hewitt, the son of tennis legend Lleyton, is following in his father’s footsteps after taking the first professional victory of his career in Darwin on Sunday.

The 14-year-old son of the former number one and two-time Grand Slam champion of the world is already making waves in the tennis world.

Cruz earned his first ever professional victory in the first round of qualifying at the Darwin Tennis International this weekend, winning 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 against 25-year-old opponent Brian Tran.

The teenage prodigy then backed it up with another win (6-3, 6(4)-7, 10-3) over 21-year-old Jerome Iaconi in the second round.

The rising star crashed out of the round of 32 on Wednesday afternoon after being convincingly beaten by 24-year-old Jesse Delaney 3-6, 1-6 in the third qualifying round.

The 14-year-old son of the former world number one is already making waves

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Hewitt said News Corp.

“I’m pretty excited about getting that win because I had to come from behind. To be honest, I was excited,” he said.

“It’s cool to go to different places like here (Darwin) and it’s a lot of fun, but I came here to test myself at this level against some older players and see how I do.

“I also get to miss school today because I won, so that’s even better.”

His father was not at court to witness the victory, but Cruz says he called him to tell him the good news.

“He (Lleyton) is at the Davis Cup at the moment so he couldn’t come,” Hewitt said.

“But I spoke to him on the phone and he was pretty happy and excited that I won.”

Lleyton Hewitt watched Cruz play during the IMF quarterfinals held in Sydney in August – and couldn’t have looked prouder.

Hewitt defeated the 24-year-old in the first qualifying round on Sunday (photo from the IMF quarter-finals)

Tennis sources have described Cruz as “as good, if not better” than his father at the same age

The teenager has had tennis ambitions for some time and in 2021 the Hewitt family brought out the logs from Melbourne, plunking down just over $4 million for a prized Burleigh Heads mansion on the Gold Coast.

Daily Mail Australia revealed the motive behind the move to Gold Coast was all part of their ‘Cruz mission’ to develop son Cruz’s budding tennis career.

Local sources in the close-knit tennis community have revealed the Hewitt’s have left Melbourne’s unpredictable weather and Covid lockdowns behind in favor of the warm and sunny conditions on the Gold Coast, where Cruz had begun some serious training.

It is understood that Cruz’s Wimbledon champion father Lleyton was attracted to the coast’s many sprawling tennis centers – made up of a mix of grass, clay and hard court surfaces – as well as the multi-million dollar ‘champion factory’ KDV tennis academy in Carrara .

The state-of-the-art center – which includes 20 courts, hotel accommodation, gyms, a swimming pool and a driving range – will serve as a makeshift base for Team Hewitt as Cruz continues his rise up the international junior ranks.

Tennis sources have described Cruz as “as good, if not better” than his famous father at the same age and that the budding ace is a bona fide future superstar.