Little ‘Lleyton' Hewitt crashes out of Wimbledon as famous parents look on

Telegraph

2 days ago

Any British player feeling overwhelmed by pressure during Wimbledon fortnight ought to consider how it feels to be thrust on to the grass courts as the son of a champion.
While the rest of the competitors in the boys' singles could plot the next stage along their career path in blissful anonymity, their entourages nurturing and readying them for a breakthrough in an imagined future, 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt enjoyed the blessing and endured the curse of enough prying eyes to have filled one of the show courts.
In the shadow of the arena where Lleyton Hewitt won a career-defining Wimbledon title 23 years ago, his son's first attempt to join his father on the honours board ended in the second round, losing 6-3, 6-0 to Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius.
One imagines more was learned by playing for just under an hour with such expectation, and amid such attention from intrigued passers-by, than any of his previous junior events.
The cramped Court 5 attracted sports fans and celebrity hunters in equal measure as the famous parents of Hewitt jnr (his actress and reality TV host mother Bec is a household name in Australia) took their seats on the quaint park benches, the 2002 champion's presence guaranteeing the kind of wisdom and insight most competitors would need Lottery funding to afford.
The typically feisty Aussie contingent was eager to get behind the teenager, the noise whenever he threatened to make the first set competitive a stark contrast to the isolated hand claps for the impressive Paldanius.
Alas, this was literally the boy versus the man as the physically daunting Finn left the Aussie clinging for a semblance of hope from the moment he broke serve in the second game.
In truth, it was like watching two boxers in different weight divisions, the 18-month age gap decisive with Paldanius, who dashed through the second set, so athletically developed he would not have looked out of place in the men's draw.
How much talent has passed through the Hewitt genes? Evidently plenty, most noticeably a whipped forehand with enough backlift to offer a wind source in the event of an energy blackout in south-west London.
The famed Hewitt reverse baseball cap ensured those taking a fleeting view of the match were in no doubt as to which of the youngsters was the Australian, as did the occasional show of petulance when a few second-serve returns too many were dumped into the net.
The personal disappointment became a factor in the second set when the willingness to excel did not match the ability to unruffle an opponent in cruise control.
'Stop looking so cool, Dad,' young Hewitt suggested to his father, who was never going to offer grand gestures or show signs of anything but beaming pride, no matter what the outcome.
This was one of those tough miles on what the young Hewitt will hope will be an invigorating journey, but these beautiful courts will look even more alluring if a feisty, ultra-competitive Hewitt can be nurtured to continue the family business.