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.

Drawcards Bernard Tomic and Cruz Hewitt have both made hasty exits from Melbourne Park after straight-set defeats in round one of Australian Open qualifying. The veteran and the teen prospect had high hopes of a berth in the Open main draw but were unable to deliver victory in front of a swell of fans on Tuesday,

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

Hopes of a dream Australian Open for Cruz Hewitt were ended in the first round of qualifying in straight sets by Nikoloz Basilashvili.

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.

The 16-year-old Cruz Hewitt made his professional Australian Open debut. Lleyton's son faced the former top-2o player Nikoloz Basilashvili on Court 3 and suffered a 6-1, 6-4 defeat in an hour and 13 minutes. The young Aussie fought well in the second set.

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.

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.

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