Alfie Hewett suffered heartbreak when he was beaten by Japan’s Tokito Oda in a pulsating gold-medal match of the men’s wheelchair tennis singles at Roland Garros. Hewett earned a match point in the third set, but he could not convert it and he went down 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 in arguably the greatest singles final at a Paralympic Games. The 26-year-old Briton reflected on that soon after the epic encounter, which lasted 2 hr 38min.
“Even though I had match point, and I got the silver, the atmosphere, the crowd, Court Philippe-Chatrier, it was the most thrilling match I’ve ever been involved in. I told Tokito afterwards to take it all in as well,” Hewett said. For an athlete who was told he was “not disabled enough to compete” and potentially ineligible three years ago, Hewett’s consolation is that he stormed back at these Games to win gold and silver in two showpiece finals.
The nine-time grand slam singles champion, 21-time grand slam doubles champion from Norfolk, who has Perthes disease, which affects hip movement, won the doubles on Friday with Gordon Reid. Hewett looked far from his best yesterday – injured after the first game and needing medical treatment as Oda dominated the first set. “It was a groin injury, which was quite painful.
It was massaged by the physio, but it was too painful to go deep. But the adrenalin kicked in and I was able to get my game back,” Hewett said. Indeed, he claimed the second set and continued his resurgence in the third, ha.