Son (17) of Tennis Legend Lleyton Hewitt Enjoys Dream Debut at Highest Level

Hewitt Jr. had already made a strong impression in the qualifying rounds of the ATP 500 tournament over the past few days. In both matches, he benefited from his opponents retiring, meaning he didn't have to 'officially' win. However, he was already leading against the much higher-ranked Serb Lajovic and American Svajda at the time of their retirements. Full of confidence, he took to the court against Giron on Tuesday evening (Dutch time) and delivered a convincing performance.

As the world No. 612, all eyes were still on Hewitt. His surname still rings a bell. Cruz's father, Lleyton, famously won the US Open and was once the world No. 1. Yet, his son had to settle for a match on Court 4 of the tennis complex, meaning only a limited number of fans could witness the first games of the seventeen-year-old Australian. The first set went comfortably to Hewitt, 6-3, and the youngster continued his impressive form in the second set.

Opponent Giron appeared nervous and grew frustrated with himself throughout the match. The world No. 85 had also come through the qualifiers to reach the main draw but immediately lost to Hewitt. The second set, and with it the match, went 6-4 to 'the son of'. Hewitt was already guaranteed nearly 8,500 euros by qualifying for the main draw, but his earnings are now rapidly increasing. His spot in the second round already secures him over 31,000 euros.

Hewitt concluded his junior career earlier this month at Wimbledon. In the boys' tournament, he lost the final to Jason Lee. After that, like Dutch top talent Thijs Boogaard, he made the definitive transition to the senior circuit. Before his ATP debut in Washington, he was ranked 612th in the world, but thanks to the three rounds he has already survived, he has virtually climbed to 365th in the world.

In the second round of the Washington tournament, which his father Lleyton once won in his career, Hewitt will face the winner of Alex De Minaur versus Stefanos Tsitsipas. De Minaur is the highest-ranked Australian in the world at No. 6. Hewitt's compatriot is the top seed in Washington.