'Big Brother' Unyielding Against Tennis Son (17) of Watching Legend

Hewitt started the match visibly tense, sensing its extraordinary significance. Within twenty minutes, he found himself 5-0 down in the first set. However, after a brief pause, he recovered, managing to snatch two games from his 'big tennis brother'. The seventeen-year-old Hewitt had trained and learned extensively with and from De Minaur over the past few years. The first set convincingly went to the mentor: 6-2.

In the stands in Washington sat Cruz's legendary father, Lleyton Hewitt. He won the ATP tournament in the American capital in 2004 and is best known for his victories at the US Open and Wimbledon. The senior Hewitt also held the world number one ranking. For him, this second-round match held extra significance. Lleyton Hewitt is the captain of Team Australia for the Davis Cup, and thus has De Minaur under his wing. The big question was whether the doting father would offer his son extra tips or let the battle unfold on court.

The latter seemed to be the case. Cruz Hewitt had little to offer against De Minaur, who professionally closed out the match. The seventeen-year-old Australian's ATP-level debut remains limited to two matches following the 6-2, 6-3 defeat. A notable moment during the match was the flyover of the presidential helicopter, possibly carrying Donald Trump. The tennis complex is located near the White House.

Earlier this month, Hewitt lost the Wimbledon boys' singles final. After that, Cruz Hewitt bid farewell to junior tennis and is now aiming to prove himself in the senior ranks at the highest level.

In the Washington qualifiers, he was fortunate that both his opponents had to withdraw. In the first round, he impressively defeated American home favorite Marcos Giron in his debut. World number six De Minaur advances to the quarterfinals. The top-seeded Australian will face American Brandon Nakashima, who in turn eliminated seventh seed Jakub Mensik.