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.

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

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

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 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.

Tennis fans have criticised Bernard Tomic's showing in Australian Open qualifying on Tuesday, with many saying Cruz Hewitt showed much more fight and effort than his veteran compatriot. Tomic and Hewitt both fell at the first hurdle in their bids to qualify for the Melbourne Park grand slam, although their matches were markedly different.

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