Cruz Hewitt has been dealt a tough reality check after he was outclassed by Alex de Minaur in their highly anticipated all-Australian tennis showdown at the Washington Open on Friday morning (AEST).

De Minaur got off to a flyer, racing out to a 5-0 lead in the first set before Hewitt broke his countryman’s serve to get on the board before de Minaur clinched the opening set in 28 minutes.

Hewitt’s nerves settled and he held serve to love to trail 3-2 in the second set before de Minaur closed out the match 6-2 6-3 in 61 minutes.

The Aussie duo shared a heartwarming embrace at the net and De Minaur applauded Hewitt as his younger opponent left the court in Washington D.C.

“Good luck for the next 10 years of your life,” de Minaur told Hewitt in a classy touch at the net.

Hewitt can hold his head high and he made seven winners, one more than de Minaur — but 24 unforced errors to 16 didn’t help his cause.

“It was definitely weird,” de Minaur said after the match.

“I knew I was going to play him on the tour some day but I didn’t expect to be this week.

“It was an amazing feeling. 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.

“We both hit with each other so often that we kind of know each other’s game inside out. It was about who could execute a bit better.”

De Minaur, the World No. 6, will next face American Brandon Nakashima in the quarterfinals as the Australian looks to defend his title. Nakashima beat de Minaur on grass at the Queen’s Club earlier this year.

“I’m going to do my best to try my best to get my revenge from Queens,” the Aussie said.

De Minaur is on a seven-match winning streak in Washington after he won last year’s title and defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round before taking care of business against Hewitt.

Cruz, the 17-year-old son of Lleyton Hewitt, has made a major breakthrough in the past month, reaching the final of the Wimbledon juniors and claiming his first ATP tour win over World No. 96 Marcos Giron.

Originally published as Classy scenes in ‘weird’ all-Aussie tennis clash between Cruz Hewitt and Alex de Minaur