Cruz Hewitt, the 16-year-old son of tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt, has made a stunning debut on the ATP Challenger circuit with a dominant victory in Brisbane. Playing on a wildcard at the Pat Rafter Arena on Tuesday, Hewitt defeated fellow Australian James McCabe, ranked 192nd in the world, with a score of 6-2 6-1 in just 80 minutes.
Hewitt faced only one break point during the match, showcasing a strong performance on both serve and return. McCabe, the fifth seed, struggled with his serve, allowing Hewitt to capitalize. This win is Hewitt's first against a top-200 opponent and will boost his ranking from 818th to approximately 750th in the world.
Hewitt's recent form has been mixed, but he reached a semi-final in a third-tier ITF event in Brisbane late last month. McCabe, meanwhile, came to Queensland after reaching an ATP Challenger semi-final in Taipei the previous week.
Hewitt now advances to a second-round match against either Wu Tung-Lin (ranked 518th) or Christian Langmo (ranked 320th), a winnable encounter. Other notable players in the draw include Bernard Tomic, who defeated Li Tu 6-4 7-5, and top seeds James Duckworth and Rinky Hijikata, alongside Jason Kubler, Alex Bolt, and Marc Polmans.
