Son of tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt reaches Washington Open main draw

Cruz Hewitt, the 17-year-old son of former Australian tennis world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, has earned a spot in the main draw of the Washington Open, a significant step in his burgeoning professional career.

Hewitt secured his place by winning two qualifying matches. In the first round, his opponent, Serbian eighth seed Dusan Lajovic, retired while Hewitt was leading 5-2. The second qualifying match saw Hewitt face top-seeded American Zachary Svajda. After losing the first set 1-6, Hewitt fought back to win the second set 7-6(3) and was leading 2-0 in the third when Svajda also retired due to injury, handing Hewitt the victory and a main draw berth.

This achievement marks a notable advancement for the young Australian, whose world ranking is projected to jump nearly 100 spots from its current position of 615, bringing him closer to the top 500.

In the main draw, Hewitt is scheduled to play American veteran Marcos Giron in the first round. Should he win that match, he could face fellow Australian and top seed Alex de Minaur in a highly anticipated "all-Australian" clash in the second round. De Minaur himself faces a challenging first-round opponent in Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek star known for his one-handed backhand, as he seeks to regain form.