Britain’s Alfie Hewett claimed a long-awaited Wimbledon wheelchair singles title and completed a career Grand Slam with victory over Martin de la Puente.
Hewett fell to agonising defeats in the last two Wimbledon finals but this time looked utterly dominant in his 6-2 6-3 win on Court One.
After taking the title with a crushing backhand return the 26-year-old threw his racquet into the air and then dropped his head into his lap in front of feverish support.
“Narrowly missing out has been tough before and last night I was a ball of nerves,” Hewett told Court One after clinching the title.
“Winning the doubles with Gordon Reid is good memories, but to leave on a singles final loss has been heart-breaking the last couple of years.”
Hewett became the second male player after Japanese legend Shingo Kunieda to win both the singles and doubles of every Grand Slam.
Later on Sunday he could become the first man since Briton’s Reid in 2016 to win the Wimbledon singles and doubles title in the same year.
He partners Reid against Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda on court three with the British pair having won five of the past seven titles together.
Hewett has now won nine Grand Slam singles titles to go with his 20 in the doubles, only Kunieda, 50, has won more in the men’s game.
‘These last few years have been difficult’
In front of a sun-kissed crowd, Hewett achieved his redemption.
Two years ago he served for the Championship four times before losing to Kunieda. In last year’s final he led the first set against Oda 4-1 but lost 11 of the next 13 games.
“I mean, I’m speechless, to be honest,” Hewett added. “These last few years have been difficult, losing twice.
“I don’t want to look over here because I’ll probably start crying. I want to thank my team, they’re like a second family over there, we’ve gone through a lot together, a lot of highs and some lows.
“But no matter how many times you get knocked down you can still get back up and keep trying, and that’s all down to you guys.”
This was the one title Hewett wanted and he made a rapid start, converting his eighth break point to lead 2-1 in the opener with a booming forehand winner.
But De la Puente, who was in his first Grand Slam singles final having beaten defending champion Oda in the last four, immediately broke back.
Second seed Hewett had struggled with a shoulder issue at the start of the tournament but in the final he was quickly back to his free-flowing best, and he soon took his game a level above De la Puente’s.
Dominating on the approach he then twice broke his opponent and clinched a superb first set in 40 minutes after De La Puente returned a powerful first serve long.
Win dedicated to Grandad
At the start of the second set Hewett initially looked more relaxed, finding the lines as he broke De La Puente to 15 to go 1-0 ahead.
But there was to be another twist with both players suddenly struggling in warm conditions, exchanging four more breaks of serve.
With a 4-3 lead Hewett was taken to deuce on serve but squeezed to a hold before he broke his opponent one final time, getting over the line on his second championship point with a superb return winner.
Hewett dedicated his victory to his Grandad, adding: “He was here for my very first Wimbledon performance and it’s really nice he can be here today to celebrate this win.
“And to the rest of my family, you’re all very special and I love you lots.”
Share
Print
