A photo of a young Cruz Hewitt posing with arms folded alongside then teenage tennis ace Alex de Minaur at a 2018 event is going viral as the pair prepare to face off at the Washington Open.

The now 17-year-old Hewitt – son of former world No. 1 Lleyton – stunned tennis fans earlier in the week with his upset win over Marcus Giron in his ATP Tour main-draw debut.

It set up the teenager to play the winner of the round-one match between defending champion de Minaur and former world No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas – which the Australian won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt has long been a champion of de Minaur, who in turn has mentored Cruz.

The younger Hewitt described de Minaur earlier this week as “like my older brother”.

“I’ve known him basically my whole life. He’s stayed with us. We have Christmas together also,” he said.

“He’s taught me so much – I think that would be a pretty cool memory for us.”

The photo of the pair together at the John Newcombe Australian Tennis Awards in Melbourne in 2018 has been widely shared ahead of their round-two match on Friday morning, alongside another from the same event featuring Cruz’s parents Lleyton and Bec.

“We’re not crying… you’re crying… @alexdeminaur vs. @cruzhewitt is going to be good,” Tennis Channel captioned the photo in an Instagram post shared by the Washington Open.

“Can you believe these two are going to face off in Washington?” wrote ATP Tour alongside the same image on its Instagram account.

 

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De Minaur, who married fellow pro Katie Boulter in Tuscany last month after his fourth-round Wimbledon loss, has praised Cruz Hewitt for how he has handled the high expectations that come with being the son of a former No. 1.

“It’s not easy when there is that weight behind your surname,” he said.

“I think what he has done an incredible job of is maturing, getting a good head on his shoulder and coming into his own and becoming his own player…  ultimately coming out and having these results on his own and showing he deserves to be where he is.”

Hewitt, who reached the final of the Wimbledon boys’ competition, said after his round-one win that his father had told him to enjoy his first tour-level match and “take every point one-by-one”.

“There is obviously a little bit of pressure, but I try to take the positives out of it as well and I am happy with how I am dealing with it so far,” he said.