Cruz Hewitt fumes at his tennis legend dad, Lleyton, as the young Aussie star suffers hot-tempered Wimbledon defeat

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  • Cruz Hewitt suffered defeat in the second-round of the boy's singles on Tuesday
  • His dad, Lleyton, a former Wimbledon champion, turned out to support him 

By JAMES SHARPE

Published: 16:34 BST, 8 July 2025 | Updated: 16:35 BST, 8 July 2025

Cruz Hewitt took his frustrations out on former Wimbledon champion dad, Lleyton, during a hot-tempered second-round defeat in the boys singles.

Australian Lleyton, who won the title in 2002, was on Court 5 to support his 16-year-old son as he fell to a 6-3, 6-0 to 11th seed to Oskari Paldanius.

As the match slipped away from Cruz, the youngster got increasingly agitated towards his father, gesturing in his direction after almost every point – once even appearing to accuse Hewitt senior, who sat motionless under a cap and sunglasses for most of the contest, of ‘acting for the cameras’.

At one point after Lleyton, sporting a backwards cap in true Hewitt family fashion, tried to give him some words of wisdom from the side of court, Cruz responded: ‘I tried that!’. 

Another piece of advice prompted the youngster to walk away shaking his head.

When he hit one strong winner in the second set, he turned immediately to his dad and prodded his finger into his own chest.

Cruz Hewitt (pictured) took his frustrations out on former Wimbledon champion dad as he suffered defeat in the boys singles on Tuesday

His dad Lleyton (bottom-right), a former Wimbledon champion, has been pictured in the stands watching his son play this week at the All England Championships 

Cruz fired back at his team multiple times on the court on Tuesday, as they tried to offer up words of support and advice to help the youngster progress 

After his team tried to reassure him that everything was ‘fine’ as he faced break point at 3-0 in the second set, he snapped back: ‘It’s not fine, it’s nearly four-love!’

How different it was from the start of this tie when he took the second point of the match and produced a trademark Hewitt fist pump towards his team.

‘Here you go, mate, all day!’ Lleyton roared when Cruz, already in the top 50 junior ranks, broke back in the opening set. 

‘Great spots mate,’ he cried at another winning point.

How different, too, to Cruz’s opening-round where he obliterated Russian Savva Rybkin 6-1, 6-2 inside 51 minutes.

‘Dad was proud, it was great to have him there,’ Cruz told The Sydney Morning Herald after his win.

‘It was a great feeling. 

'I’ve watched my dad play here for many years, and I’ve always wanted to play on these courts, so I was enjoying every moment.

Hewitt (pictured) was beaten 6-3, 6-0 by 11th seed Oskari Paldanius. Despite the loss, he had gotten off to a fast start in the match, fist-bumping the air after taking the second point

‘He just said: “Now you can finally play on the courts and enjoy it’, so it was a great day. 

'There is nothing you can do about [who your dad is]. 

It’s a little tough, but there are pros and cons, and you’ve just got to focus on the positives that come with it, so that’s what I try and do.’

Hewitt’s victory followed his victory over world No 5 Jagger Leach, two years his senior and son of former Wimbledon champion Lindsay Davenport, at Roehampton a week ago.

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