Cruz Hewitt secures stunning rankings rise despite defeat against Alex de Minaur in Washington
Cruz Hewitt was beaten 6-2, 6-3 against his fellow Aussie Alex de Minaur at the Washington Open, but he will still be leaving the tournament with a huge prize as he has secured an epic rise up the ATP Rankings.
The 17-year-old, who is the son of former world No and Grand Slam champion Lleyton Hewitt, turned in a solid performance as he lost against a player he has practiced with numerous times in recent years.
Yet it was the vastly more experienced De Minaur who found a way to win, as his impressive serving power ensured Hewitt could not trouble the defending champion in Washington.
While Hewitt may have been disappointed to lose, his 6-3, 6-4 win against Marcos Giron in his first match in Washington ensures he will leap up around 244 places in the ATP Rankings.
Hewitt, who reached the final of the junior singles at Wimbledon earlier this month, started this week ranked at No 606, but he is on course to move up to around No 370 when the list is updated on Monday.
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Hewitt will now return to lower ranked events as he looks to build momentum in his career and on the evidence of his two matches in Washington, he should have a big chance to rise up the rankings with an all-round game that suggested he could trouble plenty of players in the senior ranks despite his novice status.
Given their long history together, De Minaur admitted the experience of playing Hewitt was strange and he heaped praise on the youngster.
“It was definitely weird,” said De Minaur, as he reflected on the win. “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.
“Even all the lead up, seeing all the incredible pictures that we have together and how we’ve both 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.”
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De Minaur will now look forward to a quarter-final clash against Brandon Nakashima, who beat him in the ATP 500 event at the Queen’s Club in London on grass last month.
“He’s a very good player in these conditions,” added De Minaur as he looked ahead to his next match.
“He likes the lively conditions, so I’m going to do my best to try and get some revenge from earlier in this year at Queen’s.”
De Minaur may have won the match, but Hewitt leaves Washington knowing the standards he needs to reach to thrive in the professional game and he might be encouraged by what he saw in a week when he recorded his first ATP Tour win.
