At only 16 years old, Cruz Hewitt - son of Lleyton - will attempt to reach his first men's Australian Open via qualifying

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.

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.

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.

Cruz Hewitt has crashed out of Australian Open qualifying with a straight-sets loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round on Tuesday.

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

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

The Australian Open qualifiers kicked off with a mix of thrilling matches, heartbreak, and unexpected triumphs. Cruz Hewitt, son of tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt, made his highly anticipated debut, facing a tough opponent in former world No.