Australian tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt has watched from the stands as his 16-year-old son Cruz made a Wimbledon debut to remember.

Following in his father’s footsteps, but incredibly at a year younger than Lleyton, Hewitt took his highly anticipated first steps on the hallowed grass of The All England Club.

And the 16-year-old showed he could be Australian men’s tennis’ next big thing, cruising past Russian Savva Rybkin, who has only been beaten eight times in his junior career.

Hewitt claimed a convincing 6-1, 6-2 victory in the first round of the famed junior tournament, eliciting Lleyton’s trademark fist pumps from the player’s box.

The youngster bears an uncanny resemblance to his father, especially in a back-to-front cap, moving around the court swiftly and utilising powerful groundstrokes.

Lleyton featured in the junior draw at Wimbledon in 1998 at 17 years old before going on to win two Grand Slams, one on the famed grass in 2002, less than a year after his first at the 2001 US Open.

Hewitt Snr remains the last Australian man to claim a Grand Slam title and is the current coach of Australia’s Davis Cup team, which he represented when they won their last title in 2003.

His son will next face Finnish 11th seed Oskari Paldanius on Tuesday.