Cruz Hewitt has continued his excellent form on Wimbledon’s grass, powering into the final of the boys’ singles event.
Facing highly-rated prospect Thijs Boogaard, who recently won a round at the ATP s-Hertogenbosch event and stretched Daniil Medvedev in a three-set thriller, Hewitt wrapped up a 6-4 6-4 win in one hour and 15 minutes.
Adding to a great day for Aussie junior tennis at the All England Club, Novak Palombo topped his round-robin group to advance to the semifinals of the boys’ 14 & Under singles event.
For Hewitt, his latest result sees him become the first Australian into the Wimbledon boys’ singles final since Alex de Minaur 10 years ago.
And with father Lleyton Hewitt watching on at Court 18, Cruz emulated his dad by reaching a Wimbledon final; 24 years earlier, Lleyton reached the men’s singles final, ultimately winning his second Grand Slam title.
“Definitely this week I've been in the zone,” Hewitt told Stan Sport.
“I have one thing in my mind and that's to get the win. So we'll see. One more [to go].
“[Reaching a Wimbledon final] sounds pretty good. I'm very happy with my performance again today. Very level-headed again. Very good serving I felt. I'm very happy to be playing in the final.
“I was so excited to get out there. Playing for a spot in the final… it was all excitement. I didn't really have any nerves, which was good.”
Having beaten four consecutive seeds to reach the final, Hewitt now finds himself up against a qualifier – American Jordan Lee – in Sunday’s final.
The 16-year-old Lee, who reached the third round of the J300 lead-up event in Roehampton, has won nine of his past 10 junior singles matches on grass.
Hewitt could become the first Australian to win the boys’ singles since Luke Saville triumphed at the All England Club in 2011. In a stellar year for Australia, that was also when Ash Barty captured the girls’ singles trophy.
The last Australian boy to triumph in any of the four junior Grand Slams was Alexei Popyrin at Roland Garros in 2017.
“[I’ll] practise obviously tomorrow, but apart from that, recover well. Do all the right things that I have been doing all this week. That's been working,” Hewitt said of his preparation for the final, hinting there might also be some words of advice and encouragement from his father.
“Relax and yeah, put the feet up and get ready, and I'll be ready to leave it all out there.
“I think I'll try and enjoy it as well.”
Palombo into 14 & Under singles semis
Palombo, meanwhile, won two matches in a memorable Friday at SW19.
He opened play on Court 6 with a decisive 6-0 6-2 victory over Brazil’s Dante Monte, then closed the Court 4 schedule with a 6-4 7-6(2) win over Brit Liam Sharkey.
Having also scored a straight-sets win on Thursday at Wimbledon, Palombo finished atop Group A with a 3-0 record, progressing to Saturday’s semifinals.
“[I’m having] so much fun. This is definitely my favourite tournament I've ever played,” Palombo told Stan Sport. “It's possibly the best experience I've ever had in my life.”
Palombo faces Swiss Jonas Waelti in the semifinals.
Fellow Aussie Claire Hirschi defeated Brazilian Gabriela Carvalho 4/6 6/3 [10-4] on Friday to finish with a 1-2 record in her round-robin group and will compete in the consolation play-offs on Saturday.