Lleyton Hewitt is one of Australia’s best and most iconic tennis players of all time, and remains highly relevant within the sport today.
That is, despite his retirement from singles competition in 2016.
Since then, the 44-year-old has continued to play in events sparingly, although he seemed to have slowed down following 2020.
That was, until he and his son, Cruz, entered the NSW Open Challenger event that is currently ongoing.
It marked a sensational story, made even more enthralling when they cruised to an opening-round victory, 6-1, 6-0.
This has led some to start looking ahead to the Australian Open.
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Nicole Pratt, speaking on the Australian Open podcast, is one such example who is quite happy to allow herself to get swept up in this brilliant storyline.
In fact, she has even backed the organisers at the first Grand Slam of the year, fortunately held in the home country of Lleyton and Cruz, to allow this father-son team to strut their stuff on one of the biggest stages in tennis.
She claimed: “It’s really special. Lleyton has been very invested in Cruz’s career. It’s a special moment.
“I just can’t wait to see what decision Craig makes, whether or not to give them a wildcard into the Australian Open, because I think that is coming! That is going to be big. I’m calling it now.”
It seems ironic that the two-time Grand Slam champion is currently Australia’s Davis Cup captain, given Lleyton Hewitt slammed the ‘stupid’ Davis Cup schedule in the past. However, he has merely voiced an opinion that many others still hold today.
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Despite their eventual loss in the quarter-final, it is always refreshing to see a father and son play together on the same court.
It is actually quite a rare feat in the sport, and one that Novak Djokovic regularly insists he hopes to achieve one day.
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Siblings are far more common, with Serena and Venus Williams, Andy and Jamie Murray, and Bob and Mike Bryan just three examples.
However, that is not quite as impressive as battling an age gap to feature alongside one another.
For Cruz and Lleyton to potentially play together at the Australian Open would be one of the great tennis stories – hopefully Pratt’s prediction can come true.
