Alex de Minaur scored his seventh straight win in Washington, DC setting up a QF vs. Brandon Nakashima.
By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 30, 2026
Photo credit: Libéma Open
Alex de Minaur continues month-long celebration season.
Earlier this month, de Minaur wed long-time fiancé Katie Boulter.
Today, de Minaur streaked through an all-Aussie reunion with Cruz Hewitt.
In a match of mentor vs. protegee, de Minaur defeated the 17-year-old Hewitt, son of Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt, 6-2, 6-3 to return to the Mubadala Citi Open quarterfinals.
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“Yeah, obviously I’ve known Cruz for the better part of ten years. We’ve hit with each other many, many times,” de Minaur said. “So going into the match I felt like we both knew each other’s games pretty well, so it made it kind of like an interesting battle of who was going to
execute better.
“I’m glad I managed the situation and the emotions well and I was able to kind of get off to a good start and, you know, get a win over someone who I’m sure I’m going to be playing a lot more.”
In the end, the friends who have spent so much practice court time shared smiles and an embrace after their first pro meeting.
“Yeah, that was a very special match, special moment I think for both of us,” Cruz Hewitt said. “I’ve looked up to him my whole life pretty much, seen him play so many times, practiced together.
“As I said, he’s like my brother, so it was special to share the court, and I wish him all the best for the rest of the tournament.”
Defending-champion de Minaur scored his seventh straight Washington, DC victory to set up a compelling quarterfinal vs. American Brandon Nakashima.
In today’s opening stadium match, Nakashima won 17 of 21 trips to net toppling seventh-seeded Jakub Mensik 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-4.
The 24-year-old Nakashima, who has reached back-to-back DC quarterfinals, owns a 2-1 record vs. de Minaur, including a 7-5, 6-3 quarterfinal conquest on the grass of Queen’s Club in London last month.
De Minaur carried a 13-2 record as a tournament top seed onto court for this all-Aussie clash that saw both the veteran and the teenager high-five Washington, DC fans during the walk on.
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Wimbledon boys’ finalist Hewitt has known de Minaur since he was a child and calls him “like an older brother.” De Minaur wasted no time applying pressure against his sometime practice partner.
Newlywed de Minaur won the toss, elected to receive and immediately put the teenager under pressure. Committing a double fault and a couple of forehand errors, Hewitt gifted the opening-break to the US Open quarterfinalist. De Minaur confirmed the break at love for 2-0.
With his father, former No. 1 and 2004 Washington, DC champion Lleyton Hewitt, watching on clad in a black Yonex baseball cap, Cruz Hewitt missed a backhand down the line to face another break point. Hewitt over-hit a forehand as de Minaur took a 3-0 double-break lead just nine minutes into the match.
Clean combinations from de Minaur helped him drain first-set errors from DC debutant Hewitt, who prevailed in a pair of retirements playing through qualifying to reach the main draw.
Dashing left, Hewitt defended a deep backhand and drew the error breaking back to get on the board at 1-5. Hewitt thumped a 124 ace down the T holding at 15 for 2-5.
De Minaur, who hit eight winners in the 28-minute opener, delivered a series of flat strikes to snatch a one-set lead.
The lanky Hewitt showed some sting off both wings and moves well, but the veteran de Minaur, a far more experienced and polished player, was winning the longer baseline exchanges throughout. De Minaur broke at 15 for a 2-1 advantage and consolidated for a 3-1 second-set lead.
On his third match point, de Minaur drew a ballooned forehand beyond the baseline breaking to seal a 6-2, 6-3 win in 61 minutes.
The Aussie friends shared an embrace at net. De Minaur leads all ATP players in ATP 500 level victories since 2023 with a 61-21 mark at 500-level events in that span.
As a six-year-old, Cruz Hewitt once hit with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
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Based on his performance in Washington, DC, granted he benefitted from a couple of retirements, Cruz Hewitt, who has worn a relaxed smile throughout his pro break-out event, looks like he can be an impactful player.
The defending champion de Minaur moved into the quarterfinals and urged patience as the young and talented Hewitt develops his game.
“Look, I’ve spent a lot of time with Cruz, and I think he’s always been a great kid,” de Minaur said. “He’s loved tennis, and I can’t say this enough, the way he’s handling the spotlight, the pressure, the expectations of being who he is.
“Even after a week like this one, right, there’s going to be even more pressure and expectation, but I think the whole kind of world should let him develop at his own pace, right? It takes time.”
Richard Pagliaro. Richard Pagliaro is Tennis Now Managing Editor. He is a graduate of New York University and has covered pro tennis for more than 35 years. Richard was tennis columnist for Gannett Newspapers in NY, served as Managing Editor for TennisWeek.com and worked as a writer/editor for Tennis.com. He has been TennisNow.com managing editor since 2010.