'It was weird': De Minaur beats Hewitt in Aussie tussle

Top seed Alex de Minaur ended the breakout run of young Australian talent Cruz Hewitt at the Washington Open, securing a swift victory in their round of 32 encounter. De Minaur, the defending champion, produced a clinical performance to defeat the 17-year-old Hewitt, son of former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, with a score of 6-2, 6-3 in just 61 minutes.

De Minaur described the experience as "weird" but acknowledged that he anticipated playing Hewitt on the tour eventually. "I knew I was going to play him on the tour some day, but I didn't actually expect it to be this week. It was an amazing feeling," de Minaur said after the match. He shared a warm embrace with Hewitt at the net, with Lleyton Hewitt watching from the stands.

Reflecting on their relationship, de Minaur noted that Hewitt had idolized him while growing up around the Davis Cup team his father captained. "Even [with] all the lead-up, seeing all the incredible pictures that we have together and how we've grown up, I'm glad I managed to get through," de Minaur added. "But I'm sure we're going to have many battles in the years to come."

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It was definitely weird. I knew I was going to play him on the tour some day, but I didn't actually expect it to be this week. It was an amazing feeling.

Australia's world number six displayed strong net play and improved his season win-loss record to 29-14. Despite his defeat, Hewitt is projected to climb approximately 252 spots in the world rankings, reaching a career-high of around world number 360. This significant jump follows his successful qualification in Washington and his maiden ATP match win.

De Minaur will now face American Brandon Nakashima in the quarter-finals. Nakashima advanced by defeating seventh-seed Jakub Mensik. De Minaur holds a 2-1 head-to-head record against Nakashima, with his only loss to the American occurring in last year's quarter-finals before de Minaur went on to win the title.

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Even [with] all the lead-up, seeing all the incredible pictures that we have together and how we've grown up, I'm glad I managed to get through. But I'm sure we're going to have many battles in the years to come.