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

Cruz Hewitt has crashed out of Australian Open qualifying with a straight-sets loss to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round on 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 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 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 was bidding to become the youngest player to make the main draw since his father Lleyton qualified for the 1997 tournament a month shy of his 16th birthday.

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's first foray into senior grand slam tennis ended with a swift reality check, but glimpses of his exciting potential were on display for a packed-out crowd at Melbourne Park.

During his 18-year career in professional tennis, Lleyton Hewitt won 30 career titles, earning him a spot in Aussie hearts as one of our most beloved athletes. Being in the spotlight for so long, the public often saw the two-time Grand Slam champion with his children,