Cruz Hewitt continues to fly the Australian flag in the Wimbledon junior championships, advancing to the third round on Tuesday.
The 17-year-old completed a 7-6(4) 6-2 victory over 14th seed Mathys Domenc to progress to the last 16 at a boys’ singles Grand Slam for the first time.
After reaching the second round in 2025, and the third round this year, Hewitt will play for a place in the quarterfinals against No.2 seed Jamie Mackenzie, the New Zealand-born German who came through his second-round match in three sets.
Hewitt, whose father Lleyton won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 2002, is the last remaining Aussie in the juniors.
Also on Tuesday, Daniel Jovanovski fell in the second round to No.8 seed Zangar Nurlanuly, while Renee Alame, competing with Adelina Lachinova, exited in the second round of the girls’ doubles event.
For Hewitt, it’s perhaps a case of like father, like son when it comes to grass courts, with Cruz also showing an aptitude for the lawns.
The teenager has not played a junior event since last year’s US Open, instead opting to compete at the professional level, mostly on the World Tennis (formerly ITF) circuit.
In 2026 he has built a 20-15 record, with two of his best results – a final in Wodonga, and semifinal in Swan Hill – both coming on grass.
By also winning a round of qualifying at the recent ATP Challenger in Dublin, and now scoring two wins in Wimbledon juniors, Hewitt’s grasscourt record this year stands at 10-3 across all levels.
He has never played Mackenzie, who grew up in New Zealand before relocating to Germany at age 12. They meet on Court 12 on Wednesday night (AEST) at Wimbledon.
Should he win, Hewitt would become Australia’s first boys’ quarterfinalist at Wimbledon since Alex de Minaur in 2016 – a year De Minaur went on to reach the final.