Tennis fans are questioning whether an Australian Open wildcard could be in the offing after Lleyton Hewitt made a triumphant return to the court alongside son Cruz on Wednesday. However their run came to an end on Thursday night when they lost in the quarter-finals of the NSW Open in Sydney.
Hewitt retired from professional tennis in 2020, but dusted off his racquet to team up with Cruz in the doubles at the NSW Open – an ATP Challenger event. Despite being 44 years old, Lleyton showed he’s still got it as he and Cruz beat fellow Aussie duo Hayden Jones and Pavle Marinkov 6-1 6-0 in the first round. The match only lasted 46 minutes as the father-son duo proved way too good for their 19-year-old opponents.
Lleyton and Cruz Hewitt teamed up to win their doubles match at the NSW Open in Sydney. Image: ATP/Getty
However they couldn’t back it up in the quarter-finals, losing to Dane Sweeney and Calum Puttergill 5-7 6-4. “It was a lot of fun,” Lleyton had said after the first round victory. “Obviously a little bit unknown coming out here today, and it’s nice coming back on this court. I’ve had a lot of special memories and this is right up there.
“It’s something that I don’t think many fathers get the chance to do, so to be able to come out and him obviously being good enough at this level now is pretty impressive at his age. Even though I’m getting up there, we sort of matched at the right time, so it was nice.”
The 16-year-old Cruz is trying to forge a successful tennis career of his own, and Lleyton has been right there in his corner every step of the way. Cruz beat compatriot Omar Jasika in the first round of the singles comp on Tuesday, winning 3-6 7-6 6-4. On Wednesday he lost to Matsuoka Hayato of Japan 7-5 3-6 5-7.
“The biggest thing for him at the moment is just improvement,” Lleyton said of his son. “Keep improving, keep becoming a better player, a better version of himself every time he steps on the court. The last couple of months I’ve been so proud of him and the effort that he’s put in, and the results have been there because of that effort, which is great.”
Cruz and Lleyton Hewitt were way too good for their 19-year-old opponents. Image: ATP
Is an Australian Open swansong on the cards?
After their successful team-up on Wednesday, tennis fans were quick to question what it might mean for the rest of the Australian summer. Lleyton has hinted he’s come out of retirement for one week only, but fans are questioning whether Tennis Australia might grant them a wildcard for the doubles at the Australian Open in January.
It would be a stunning return to his home grand slam after Lleyton retired at the Australian Open six years ago. One person wrote on social media: “Will be interesting to see how they do the rest of this week. Would AusOpen consider giving them a WC into doubles?”
RELATED:
Fans were blown away by Lleyton’s level considering he hasn’t played professional tennis since 2020. The sight of the Australian legend on the court with his son left many emotional.
“Lleyton + Cruz Hewitt is the doubles pair we needed. Hope they play at AO26,” one person wrote. Another added: “Anyone thinking an Australian Open doubles wildcard could come to Lleyton Hewitt and Cruz if things continue to go well?”