Alfie Hewett will have to make do with just the single golden slam, for now at least, after he was edged out in a thrilling men’s wheelchair tennis singles final 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 by Tokito Oda.
In what is developing into an abiding rivalry at the top of the men’s wheelchair game, the Japanese teenager repeated his success over Hewett in the final of the French Open two years ago. A combination of power and brave shot-making ultimately won out for Oda, just 18 years of age, after Hewett – who sustained a groin injury in the first set – had earned match point at 5-3 in the third.
“I have mixed emotions right now,” a visibly disappointed Hewett said after the match. “After the start and the problem that I had with my groin, it wasn’t looking too good. To make it competitive in the second set and grow into the match and fight and find a way and then get to a match point scenario and be a few inches away from getting a gold is something that I can be proud of. The spirit of how it was played and the atmosphere of that is so, so positive. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
Oda, alongside his partner Takuya Miki, had been comprehensively beaten by Hewett and Gordon Reid in the doubles final on Friday, completing a glorious chapter for the British doubles pair. The world No 2 looked fired up for revenge, and his cause was aided early on when Hewett was forced to call for a medical time out after the opening game.
After a lengthy break, Hewett returned to the court but instantly looked in trouble. He struggled to get lift into his serve and was consistently left stranded in the mid-court as Oda latched on to his underpowered deliveries and returned them with eye-watering interest.
Lacking mobility and power, there was a point when it looked like he might struggle to continue but, much to Hewett’s credit, he dug deep into his physical reserves and also began to apply his intelligence and found a way to claw himself back into the contest.
After ceding the first set, a turning point came for Hewett in his second service game of the second as he was forced to deuce 10 times but managed to hold. The 26-year-old celebrated wildly and also mimicked wiping the sweat from his brow to the crowd. In front of a packed Philippe Chatrier court, managing the crowd and winning their support became a key dynamic in the match.
Hewett broke at 4-4 in the second set, again tempting Oda into a series of wild plays. He held his serve confidently to win the second set and carried that form over into the third, breaking Oda straight away. The match had turned on its head and whatever injury had afflicted Hewett appeared to have subsided.
A further exchange of breaks, far more common in the wheelchair game than the running game, left Hewett with an advantage as the final set reached its final knockings. At 5-3, three errors from Oda left him 30-40 down and facing gold medal point. The rally that followed went in Hewett’s favour and he earned himself the space and time to attempt a winner from the right-hand side of the court. Hewett went for the cross-court drop shot. It cleared the net but landed beyond the line and the moment had gone.
The effect on Hewett’s body language, slumped shoulders and a shake of the head, was clear. Meanwhile Oda took that escape as fuel and not only channelled it into his play but into the crowd too. What had been a split support was now almost exclusively behind the teenager and he roared back to his form of the first set, holding serve then immediately getting into Hewett’s and breaking back. Oda held again and then dismantled Hewett in his final service game, winning to love.
The crowd went wild, but not as wild as Oda, who threw his racket across the court and himself off his chair and on to the floor. The wheels also came off, literally, and it was Hewett, who exchanged a long embrace with his victorious opponent, who helped to put them back on.
“To be one point away and miss that opportunity will stick with me, of course,” Hewett said. “You don’t just move on from something like that overnight. But it’s all about perspective. It’s all about looking at the good things that today brought. Sometimes it’s bigger than the individual and the person and hopefully that today can just really kick on things with our sport even more and bring more attention. So that side of it, I’m extremely proud of.”
