His father Lleyton Hewitt has a storied history at his home Grand Slam, although the former world number one failed to win the event during his glittering career.

Hewitt thinks Nick Kyrgios will find the Australian Open difficult, with the latter set to return from a lengthy spell out injured in Melbourne.

Cruz will be hoping to join his compatriot on the big stage, although he must make it through qualifying in early January.

How Cruz Hewitt can emulate Lleyton Hewitt at the 2025 Australian Open

And if he does, Cruz will become the youngest player to appear in the Australian Open men’s singles draw since Lleyton, as per OptaAce.

READ MORE: Andy Roddick says what he now thinks of Lleyton Hewitt after a lot of ‘ugly moments’ on court

The former will be 16 years and 32 days when the competition gets underway, with the latter having featured at the 1997 event aged 15 years and 323 days, when he also received a wildcard.

Simona Halep and Stan Wawrinka receive Australian Open wildcards

Like Cruz, Simona Halep has received an Australian Open wildcard, with the Romanian also needing to make it through qualifying.

And like Lleyton, she is a former world number one and two-time Grand Slam champion, winning the French Open and Wimbledon.

READ MORE: The five players with the most Australian Open main draw appearances after Stan Wawrinka handed wildcard

Halep had previously lost three Grand Slam finals, including the Australian Open, with Hewitt in a similar position with two Grand Slam final losses, including one at the Australian Open.

The Australian managed to win the US Open and Wimbledon before such defeats, and he will now be hoping his son can secure similar success.

Also joining Cruz with qualifying wildcards are Chris Eubanks and Dan Evans, along with this week’s Next Gen ATP Finals stars Learner Tien, Luca Van Assche and Joao Fonseca.

Stan Wawrinka meanwhile has been handed a main draw wildcard, with the Swiss icon having beaten Rafael Nadal to win the 2014 Australian Open.

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