Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett won his first Wimbledon wheelchair singles title to complete the career Grand Slam with a comprehensive 6-2 6-3 victory over Spain’s Martin De La Puente.
Hewett lost in the Wimbledon finals in 2022 and 2023 but erased those memories to clinch a ninth Grand Slam title overall after four US Open victories, three at the French Open and one at the Australian Open.
The 26-year-old had already completed the career Grand Slam in doubles, winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open five times each, all with fellow Brit Gordon Reid.
Hewett has now replicated that achievement in the singles after overpowering De La Puente, winning the match with a powerful backhand and becoming only the second male player after Japan’s Shingo Kunieda to win the singles and doubles at every Grand Slam.
He could also become the first man since Reid in 2016 to win the Wimbledon singles and doubles title in the same year when he partners the Scot in the doubles final against Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda on Sunday afternoon.
Hewett had been beaten by Oda in last year’s Wimbledon singles final, losing 11 of the final 13 games having led 4-1 in the first set, while he squandered four championship points in the 2022 showpiece before losing to legend of the game Kunieda.
Hewett now has nine Grand Slam singles titles and a further 20 in doubles
But the Norwich-born player would not be denied in 2024, securing victory with his second championship point before hurling his racket into the air in an emotional celebration as the crowd erupted.
Hewett completes ‘dream’ after previous heartbreak
Hewett said afterwards: “I am speechless to be honest. These last few years have been difficult. Winning the doubles with Gordon (Reid) has been good memories, but to leave on a singles final loss has not been far off heartbreaking in the last couple of years.
“When you’ve watched this ever since you were a young kid and it’s been a dream for so, so long, narrowly missing out has been a real tough one.
“Last night I was a ball of nerves because I didn’t want to walk away with another loss and I am just really, really proud of my performance out there.
“I want to thank my team, they are like a second family. We’ve gone through a lot together, a lot of highs and some lows, but you never fail to get me back to myself, back to my level.
“You kept believing in me. I think today proved that no matter how many times you can get knocked down, you can still get back up and keep trying. That is all down to you guys.”
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