Alex de Minaur saved face in an excruciating all-Aussie clash at the ATP event in Washington as he defeated the teenaged son of Australian icon Lleyton Hewitt to reach the quarter-finals.

The freshly married de Minaur played for the first time in more than three weeks after losing a Wimbledon fourth-round and then getting hitched to British player Katie Boulter.

Cruz Hewitt, 17-year-old son of Lleyton, took the 6-2, 6-3 loss as de Minaur reached the last eight of the pre-US open tune-up.

But facing the son of one of your tennis mentors was not easy for the sixth-ranked winner. who admitted that his own awkward form needs some quick improvement.

“It was definitely weird, I knew I was going to play him (Cruz) on the Tour some day, but I didn’t actually expect it to be this week,” de Minaur said.

“Even all the lead up, seeing all the incredible pictures that we have together and how we’ve both grown up. I’m glad I managed to get through, but I’m sure we’re going to have many battles in the years to come.”

But those sentiments could not distract from the oddity of paying the son of a mentor and Davis Cup captain.

“I expected Lleyton to be),in the box, and helping his son. But we both didn’t know how to kind of act, right?

“It was definitely a weird situation, but now that this has happened the next time we’ll all be ready for it, that’s for sure.”

De Minaur, 27, will now line up against Brandon Nakashima, a winner over seventh seed Jakub Mensik 7-6 (5), 3-  6-4.

De Minaur is defending his 2025 title in the US capital and somehow felt lucky to escape with the win over Hewitt, Jr after a long-ish layoff.

“(This is the ) longest I’ve been without touching a racket and it’s probably the worst I felt on court after this. The body was in bits, aching all over the place.

“I felt like I aged about 20 years over 13 days but the one thing I definitely told my team was that, ‘Yeah, I can’t take this much time off’. 

“I need the body to at least keep moving because if not it’s tough to get back on the horse.”

Andy Murray will give his coaching attempt with Jack Draper another go this week in Washington as the injury-prone Brit attempts a comeback after dropping out of Wimbledon and skewering his debut with his famed compatriot.

Murray has patiently adjusted to the waiting game with Draper, a one-time national No. 1 now ranked 147.

The pair will attempt to kick start their coaching relationship in steamy conditions in Washington as the pre-US open hardcourt season kicks off in the US capital.

Since announcement of the collaboration last May, Draper has only played one event, reaching the home semi-finals at Eastbourne.

But the Wimbledon partnership was put on hold by yet another injury to the fragile 24-year-old, who did not compete from last September until Davis Cup in February due to bone bruising in his serving arm.

Bringing three-time Grand Slam winner Murray on board had originally been billed as a deal of only a few weeks. Draper has played in only six events this season, winning eight of 13 matches.

Sky Sports reported that Sir Andy and his new pupil had been spotted on a practice court in Washington this week.

Main photo:- Sir Andy Murray takes a training time out with Jack Draper in Washington

Holder Jack Draper will begin the Indian Wells sporting his most streamline look ever as the Brit goes into hardcourt battle wearing a menacingly short hairstyle.

“There is nothing like a buzz cut,” the No. 14 said as he gets serious about his comeback to tennis after eight months away with an arm injury.

“You don’t have to do anything. (I don’t know) what inspired the haircut.

“There are a lot of difficult (injury) moments, and when you come out of that and you start to feel better within yourself  I just fancied a fresh start.

But the British No. 1 added: “Not sure if it’s my best haircut or my best fashion choice, but something different is always good. 

“I think I’ll return to it again, but maybe I’ll let it grow for now.”

With fashion on the side, Draper is concentrating on his tennis. He returned to the courts last month with a Davis Cup win and advanced to the second round last week in Dubai before luckily flying out before the current crisis.

He faces the huge task of defending 1,000 champion’s ranking points from his win a year ago in the final over Holger Rune, also recovering from late 2025 ankle surgery.

“I’m still at the very early stages of coming back,” Draper said as he begins in the second round after a bye against oberto Batista Agut.

“I’ve been out eight months and these guys are out there on the tour playing week in, week out. 

“But do I believe that my tennis, and my practice, and everything is going really well and my body feels good? Absolutely.

“I’m just looking forward to getting back out there and getting the momentum back in my tennis. There’s no reason why I can’t go all the way.”

During his 2025 run to glory, Draper defeated top-five players in Taylor Fritz and world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz to book the final at the Tennis Garden in the Californian desert.

Main photo:- Jack Draper displays his “Buzz cut” at Indian Wells press conference – by ATPTour.com