An emotional Alfie Hewett claimed his 7th grand slam name in wheelchair singles and primary on the Australian Open prior to revealing his ambition to be a figurehead for the game.
Hewett had misplaced within the ultimate at Melbourne Park for the previous two years however made it 3rd time fortunate, defeating the 16-year-old Tokito Oda from Japan 6-3, 6-1. The good fortune finished a golden two days for the Norfolk participant, who additionally gained the doubles name along with his British teammate Gordon Reid on Friday.
Hewett was once 3–1 down within the first set however gained 5 video games in a row to take it after which repeated the collection in the second one set, sealing the victory with an ace prior to sobbing with pride. “I can’t really describe it at the moment,” mentioned the 25-year-old, who has taken over as global No 1 after the retirement of his large rival Shingo Kunieda.
“Third time lucky. Losing the last couple of years has haunted me. With there being such a big gap between the end of the year and the new year, you really have time to dwell on it. It has stuck with me for, I’d say, the last couple of years. The motivation has been growing.
“To get out there today and overcome a few shaky nerves at the beginning, play some of the tennis I did, I’m extremely proud of the efforts and, of course, the outcome in the end.”
Wimbledon is now the one singles name Hewett, who has 23 grand slam trophies general together with in doubles, has no longer gained. He was once overwhelmed by way of Kunieda in closing 12 months’s singles ultimate in SW19. “Of course I believe I can win it after the last years’ performances,” he mentioned. “We’ll see when we get there what the mentality is like.”
Kunieda retired at the eve of the match having collected a report 28 grand slam singles titles and 50 general, in addition to 4 Paralympic gold medals. “It’s been on my mind with Shingo retiring, someone’s got to step up,” mentioned Hewett.
“I believe like, with my skill, that I will get with reference to his report. I’ve were given age on my aspect, I’ve were given the boldness, I’ve were given the sport taste to again myself in each and every slam now. Obviously, you are taking it one after the other. But I would like the dominance. I would like to be a figurehead for this game.