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One of the perks of being a successful junior at the business end of a grand slam event is that you often get to practise with some of the men who are deep in the main draw. For Cruz Hewitt at Wimbledon, that meant Arthur Fery.

The 17-year-old Australian jumped at the chance to practise with Fery, the British wildcard who was playing in the semi-finals here on Friday, this week and repeated the trick just before his last-four match in the boys’ event. It worked wonders for Hewitt, whose increasingly impressive all-round game was in tune as he knocked off Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands, one of the brightest junior prospects. His 6-4, 6-4 win sent him through to the final.

He’s the first Australian to reach the final since Alex de Minaur 10 years ago and he’s done it without dropping a set. His father, the former Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, was sitting courtside and was clearly delighted, giving him a little rap on the back in celebration.

“I think he’s pretty proud,” the teenager said of the former world No 1. “He’s happy with how far I’ve come with my mentality, my game style.”

As a player, no one was more intense on court than Hewitt, who won the US Open in 2001 before triumphing at Wimbledon the following year. While he’s not the coach – Wayne Arthurs fills that role – Hewitt Sr is a mentor and constant source of positivity.

“He’s in my corner,” Cruz said. “Yeah, he’s coaching a little bit, but he’s also just there for support. Every time I look over at him, he’s showing me positivity, so that gets me up and about as well. And I use that.”

It was noticeable, too, that his father made a point of sending a single clap, often just after everyone else clapped. It was something Judy Murray used to do for her son Andy, the timing of the sound letting him know where it was coming from. “I actually haven’t thought about that,” Cruz said, when it was pointed out to him. “Actually, now I’m thinking, maybe he does. Well, if it’s working … keep it going.”

Growing up as the son of a star player has its advantages and disadvantages. Father and son still practise together and even play sets – “I’ve won a few of them,” Cruz said – and having someone with his knowledge and tactical nous can only help. On the other hand, trying to live up to the expectations that come with being Lleyton Hewitt’s tennis-playing son is far from easy.

But Cruz seems to be level-headed on and off the court. On it, he stayed calm when he was broken early in the second set against Boogaard, breaking straight back and then going on to win five games out of six to clinch victory. “I’m really happy with my performance,” he said. “I think I, like all my matches this week, was very level-headed. Stayed pretty composed throughout that whole match, and then that allowed me to play good tennis.”

Off the court, he is amiable, relaxed and seemingly at ease in front of the media. While only one Australian journalist chatted to him after his first-round win, more than 10 writers crammed into one of the smaller rooms here, keen to learn what makes him tick, after his semi-final victory.

He concedes that being Lleyton’s son “is obviously always there, but I take the positives out of it. I do what I can, block out all the other noise. It doesn’t bother me too much. I just focus on myself and I just try to do my best each day.” Leo Borg, son of the great Björn Borg, found it understandably tough; Hewitt seems to take it all in his stride. “I’ve always had this type of personality, which has obviously helped me.”

One of the fears for Hewitt in his early years on the junior circuit was that he may lack the height to have big weapons. It may be a trick of the eye, but Hewitt seems to have grown since the Australian Open, though he doesn’t know exactly how tall he is: “I think I’m about 6ft 2-ish, he said.” It’s helping, clearly, with his average first serve speed against Boogaard coming in at 120mph (194kph).

With a flat backhand and heavy forehand to back up the serve, together with good movement, Cruz considers grass his best surface. On Sunday, he plays the US’s Jordan Lee for the title, looking to go one step further than De Minaur, who lost to Denis Shapovalov in the 2016 final.

“I’ve just got to do the exact same things I’ve done all week,” he said. “I go out there and back myself and then I leave it all out there.”