De Minaur ‘like my older brother’, Cruz Hewitt says ahead of Washington clash
Alex de Minaur and Cruz Hewitt will contest their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting on Thursday at the Mubadala DC Open in Washington. Yet it will be far from the first chapter in the story of the pair’s relationship.
De Minaur has known Hewitt — the 17-year-old son of former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Lleyton Hewitt — since he was a young boy regularly travelling with his father to events on the ATP Tour. As a result, Thursday’s second-round encounter in Washington will represent a somewhat strange ‘full-circle’ moment for the No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.
“It's going to be a weird situation,” De Minaur said in Washington after his opening-round victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas. “There's no denying that. I've seen Cruz grow up for the past 10 years. I've seen him become the man that he is right now. I've hit with him countless times.
“We both came here early before the tournament. The first few days we hit with each other. So it's going to be a pretty cool feeling I think to be able to play him. I'm excited for it. It's going to be a lot of fun. He's earned his way to where he is right now. He's been playing some incredible tennis and 'big boy' tennis. I'm going to have to be ready and hopefully make his life as difficult as I can make it.”
The World No. 612 Hewitt, who reached the boys’ singles final at Wimbledon earlier this month, came through qualifying in Washington to take his spot in the main draw at an ATP Tour event for the first time. On Tuesday, he upset Marcos Giron in straight sets to secure his maiden tour-level win at an event where his father lifted the trophy in 2004.
That milestone victory for the teenager created the potential for an intriguing second-round meeting between established Top-10 De Minaur and a young player who has long viewed him as something of a mentor.
“Obviously if I play Alex, that would be a dream to share the court with him,” Hewitt said prior to De Minaur’s first-round victory against Tsitsipas. “He's like my older brother. I've known him basically nearly my whole life. He's stayed with us. We have Christmas together, also. To play him, share the court with him, he's taught me so much, I think that would be a pretty cool memory for us.
“I hit with him before this tournament for two days and then a few times at Wimbledon, as well. Obviously, I learn a lot hitting with him.”
Alex de Minaur and Cruz Hewitt after a practice at the 2024 Australian Open. Photo: Kelly Defina/Getty Images
For De Minaur, who has frequently spoken about the positive influence of Lleyton Hewitt on his own career, the mere fact that he and Cruz are about to face off at an ATP 500 event is evidence that the teenager is on the right track.
“I think that there's got to be a lot of respect shown to him, because it's definitely not easy being an ex-No. 1 in the world's son,” the Washington defending champion said. “Ever since he started, he picked up the racquet, ever since he was playing junior tournaments, the expectation, the eyeballs, the spotlight was already on him. It's not easy when there is that kind of weight behind your surname.
“I think what he's done an incredible job of is maturing and really getting a good head on his shoulders and coming into his own, becoming his own player, and really dealing with the spotlight and the expectations really, really well, and ultimately coming out and having these results on his own and kind of showing that he deserves to be where he is."
Cruz Hewitt was with Alex de Minaur and Australia's team at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. Photo: Angel Martinez/Getty Images for ITF
De Minaur is well aware of the building blocks, both on and off the court, laid by 30-time tour-level champion Lleyton Hewitt for his son. The 27-year-old credits Lleyton with helping him find his own feet when making the transition from juniors to the pros.
“He's had a very big impact on my career from probably around 16, 17, when I was kind of playing juniors and doing alright in the Slams, to being brought into Davis Cup as an "orange boy" for the first time,” De Minaur said of Lleyton. “Then the faith and the belief he's had in me ever since has definitely been a huge part of where I am right now.
“I've hit with Cruz since basically I reckon for the last three, four years almost at every Slam. He's out there, and we always hit with each other. It's great to see him grow and develop and year after year becoming more of a man obviously and having this really good game and growing into his own body. Now he's out here beating some very high-quality players. I'm ready for the challenge and ready for the battle, and it should be a fun one.”
