Former world No.1 Lleyton Hewitt has shared insight into his son Cruz's tennis journey thus far, describing it as "a bloody long journey."
The two-time Grand Slam champion spoke to the media at Thursday's Australian Open launch as he explained Cruz's path to his first ATP point.
"Most likely he’ll be playing in the juniors [at the 2025 Australian Open], which is pretty awesome for him again. He got the experience of being there earlier this year," Hewitt said.
"I think it’s every kid’s dream to play in a Grand Slam, but we’re very fortunate being in this country, that we get it in our backyard as well.
"He’s obviously seen a lot of these players before him that have played, so [it's] pretty exciting."
Cruz, 15, clinched the J100 title in Christchurch today, two months after he secured two consecutive ITF junior titles - now with seven ITF titles to his name.
The teenager received a wildcard for the 2024 Australian Open junior boys' singles, but was defeated in the first round.
Despite the hype around him given his father's standing in the sport, Hewitt is adamant that the outside noise doesn't impact him.
"I don’t think he focuses on it too much," Hewitt admitted. "He’s like most kids these days, they just go about their thing.
"One thing [is that] he’s never been shy of playing on big courts or in front of people, so he sort of takes it in his stride.
"It’s his journey, and it’s a very long journey, and he’s only just got his first ATP (point) which is fantastic to start somewhere, but it does feel like a bloody long journey."
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