The long flowing hair hanging out the back of his hat, the relentless coverage of the court, one could be forgiven for thinking they were watching old Wimbledon tapes.
But they would in fact be watching the Wimbledon Boys’ final, as Lleyon Hewitt’s son, Cruz, suffered final heartbreak.
The 17-year-old, got to step out on Court Number 1 at Wimbledon, one of the many courts his father would have had so many happy memories on.
Lleyton was in the stands, hat and shades on, offering consistent advice to his son, trying his best to help him navigate the nervy final.
And it seemed to be working, Cruz took the opening set in comfortable fashion against 16-year-old qualifier Jordan Lee.
The second set was the polar opposite, Lee raced out to a lead, but Cruz fought back, before ultimately dropping the second set.
Lleyton Hewitt watched on as his on Cruz suffered Wimbledon final heartbreak
Cruz came up just short in a tense final that went the full three sets
The final set was a topsy turvy affair with both players quite rightly showing some nerves with the prospect of junior Wimbledon champion looming.
It was tied at 5-5 in the final set before Jordan Lee held his serve and ultimately broke Cruz’s to claim the title.
Lleyton looked as proud as ever as son stepped up to claim his runners up shield, in what was the biggest moment of his young career.
He may not have claimed a grand slam title, but making his first junior grand slam final is not something to sniff at.
More performances like that, and Cruz will surely be making waves in the men’s game before long as well.
It has been 24 years since Lleyton claimed his Wimbledon title when he beat David Nalbandian.
And he would have no doubt been hitting every ball with Cruz as he watched on from the stands.
Cruz’s comments after the loss, would have made his parents just as proud as his performance on it.
He was very gracious in his defeat, ‘First off I just want to congratulate Jordan, excellent week. You played some really good tennis and it was a great battle today,’ Cruz said.
‘A very special week for me. I think I played some good tennis as well. I’m happy with my level and to make the final on this beautiful court, it’s been really unreal.’
He added: ‘I grew up around this tournament seeing my dad play, seeing this court for many years now. It’s a privilege to play on any court here and being around all the fans. Thanks everyone for coming out.’
