Alfie Hewett Triumphs in the Lexus British Wheelchair Open

The 2023 edition of the Lexus British Open unfolded in Nottingham from August 1st to August 6th. The tournament showcased a series of exhilarating matches, with our correspondent, Saatvik Shankar, on-site to witness the final two days that marked the culmination of a triumphant campaign.

On August 5th, the day commenced at a leisurely pace, hampered by rainfall that rendered the outdoor courts unusable. Nevertheless, the matches were swiftly relocated to indoor courts, where an unwavering audience gathered to lend their support to homegrown talents, namely Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid, Lucy Shuker, and Andy Laparthorne. These players competed in a combination of semi-final and final clashes across their respective categories.

The day's proceedings commenced with Alfie Hewett's decisive victory over the Spanish sensation and World No. 4, Martin de la Puente, in the men's singles semi-final. Although Hewett experienced an initial setback in the first game, he soon regained his momentum, prevailing over Puente with a commanding score line of 6-2, 6-2. This triumph marked the second consecutive semi-final encounter between the two athletes on the British hard court. With this victory, Hewett advanced to face Belgium's Joachim Gerard, the World No. 5, in the final. Gerard had secured his spot by triumphing over British player Gordon Reid in a gripping three-set semi-final, with scores of 7-3, 3-6, 7-6(5).

The narrative between Hewett and Puente did not conclude there. They reconvened on the court for the men's doubles final, where Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid united against the duo of Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez. The match initiated with Puente and Fernandez seizing an advantage by converting four of six break points, leading to a score of 3-6. The dynamics shifted as the British pair intensified their efforts, surging to a 6-3 victory. The final set was an intense showdown, as all four players poured their utmost into the game. Eventually, Hewett and Reid emerged victorious, securing their 43rd joint title.

In the women's doubles final, a new Dutch partnership emerged on the scene: Diede de Groot and Jiske Griffioen, recent victors of the Wimbledon title. They faced British No. 1 Lucy Shuker and her American counterpart, Dana Mathewson. Despite Shuker and Mathewson's recent attainment of their eighth title at the Belgian Open, it was the Dutch duo that sustained their pressure across both sets, culminating in a resounding 6-3, 6-2 triumph.

The subsequent day unveiled clear skies and eager spectators, converging to witness a day of enthralling tennis. The proceedings initiated with Dutch No. 1 Diede De Groot clinching her fourth women's singles title, vanquishing World No. 6, ZhenZhen Zhu, with an emphatic score of 6-1, 6-0. De Groot's performance throughout the tournament was nothing short of exceptional, having conceded merely six games en route to securing both the women's singles and doubles titles. Notably, De Groot extended her unbeaten streak to 114 matches and achieved her career-best milestone of 80 singles titles. She said she was always happy to come back to this tournament, and she was happy with the way she played and looked out on a few key points in her game to improve her skills before she heads out for US Open. She says people need to go and watch the sport as the players work equally and very hard to train and improve their game.

De Groot was not the only Dutch player who won silverware, Niels Vink won his second British Open title in the Men’s singles quad category after beating his doubles partner and fellow country player Sam Schroder. It was a close competition between both of them, with Schroider reading in both the matches but Vink turned the passage of games with his skills and won with a score of 6-3, 6-2. He has an old connection with the British Open as four years ago, he won his first title, at the age of 16, becoming the youngest player to win an ITF Super Series. In an interview with us he said, British Open is always been a special tournament for him. He feels happy with his performance levels. He said people need to realise that it's just tennis, if they like tennis they should also support and like wheelchair tennis.

After two soaring finals, it was time for the game the crowd was anticipating for. Alfie Hewett, the homeboy took on Joachin Gerard. Alfie dominated the game from the beginning and finally won the game after Joachim delivered the ball outside the court during an intense rally between them. Alfie won with a score of 6-0, 6-2 and won his second British Open Title in three years. It was his fourth singles title. Alfie in an interview with us said that It was a relief for him to win this final and he was delighted to see the atmosphere and the support from the crowd. He said his expectation was high and he has now confident and currently preparing for the US Open. He said people need to start watching the sport, it's fascinating to watch the skills of the players with tennis in their wheelchairs and they need to come watch players playing this fascinating game on the court.

The British Open heralded triumph for numerous British athletes. Simultaneously with the esteemed Lexus British Open, the Nottingham Futures event featured a resounding achievement by Abbie Breakwell and Andrew Penney, securing victories in both the singles and doubles categories. Abbie Breakwell's prowess was evident as she secured the women's singles title with a triumphant score of 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(3).

Leveraging his previous British Open Juniors title, Andrew Penney demonstrated his continued ascendancy by prevailing in the tightly contested men's singles final. He conquered compatriot Joshua Johns, securing victory with a score line of 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Further augmenting the roster of British achievements, Dan Pennington-Bridges claimed victory in the quad-doubles division. Collaborating with Israel's Elay Chayot, Pennington-Bridges orchestrated a commanding performance, resulting in a decisive 6-0, 6-0 win against Fricis Gustavs Alliks and Alessandro Ciriello in the final match.

With the conclusion of the tournament, the athletes now set their sights on their next endeavour: The US Open, scheduled for the upcoming month from September 5th to 10th.