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.

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.

Drawcards Bernard Tomic and Cruz Hewitt have both made hasty exits from Melbourne Park after straight-set defeats in round one of Australian Open qualifying. The veteran and the teen prospect had high hopes of a berth in the Open main draw but were unable to deliver victory in front of a swell of fans on Tuesday,

Bernard suffered a 6-3, 6-1 loss to the 21st seed Jozef Kovalik in the first qualifying round, ending his campaign in an hour. The Slovak served at 71% and dropped 11 points in his games, facing no break points and mounting the pressure on the other side.

Hopes are high that the small Australian women’s contingent in the main draw at Melbourne Park will expand as five more players won through to the second round of qualifying on Tuesday.

Crestfallen Australian tennis player Bernard Tomic has bombed out of the first round of the Australian Open qualifying tournament against world No.128 Jozef Kovalik. The former world No.17 was beaten 6-3, 6-1 in exactly 60 minutes at Kia Arena on Tuesday.

Bernard Tomic, Australia’s one-time world No.17 and former great hope of a home grand slam champion, will fight through qualifying at the Australian Open next week for the first time in three years.

Bernard Tomic’s hopes of a first Australian Open appearance in three years have been dashed after he was swept out of the first round of qualifying in straight sets.

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

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.

Bernard Tomic's absence from the Australia Open main draw will stretch on for another year after the controversial star suffered a straight-sets loss to Jozef Kovalik in his opening qualifying game.