Nearly 30 years after his father made his first Australian Open with a qualifying wildcard, the 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt was bidding to do the same. But watched by his parents, he was crushed 6-1, 6-4 by experienced Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili at the ...

Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world No. 1 Lleyton, came up short in his bid to reach the Australian Open main draw when he was beaten 6-1, 6-4 by Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round of qualifying Tuesday.

The 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt made his professional Australian Open debut. Lleyton's son faced the former top-2o player Nikoloz Basilashvili on Court 3 and suffered a 6-1, 6-4 defeat in an hour and 13 minutes.

The teenager, who has been warming up with Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, received a wildcard to Australian Open qualifying

Cruz was handed a brutal first-up assignment and was blown away by Basilashvili in a lopsided opening set. But the youngster showed his dad's fighting spirit to take the match to the Georgian in the second stanza, only to come up agonisingly short.

Hopes of a dream Australian Open for Cruz Hewitt were ended in the first round of qualifying in straight sets by Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Cruz Hewitt's first foray into senior grand slam tennis ended with a swift reality check, but glimpses of his exciting potential were on display for a packed-out crowd at Melbourne Park.

Veteran Bernard Tomic and 16-year old Cruz Hewitt have both made quick exits from the Australian Open qualifiers as the duo both fell in straight sets in the first round.

Cruz Hewitt, the son of former world number one Lleyton, came up short in his bid to reach the Australian Open main draw on Tuesday when he was beaten 6-1 6-4 by Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round of qualifying.

The 16-year-old could not follow in his father’s footsteps to qualify for the first grand slam of the year as a teenager, with Lleyton Hewitt a qualifier in 1997 as a 15-year-old