Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett has maintained his pursuit of two titles at Wimbledon, securing victories in both his men’s wheelchair singles and doubles matches on Thursday. The 28-year-old, ranked world number two and boasting 10 Grand Slam singles titles, successfully advanced in both competitions. His impressive performance ensures his presence in a semi-final and a final as the tournament progresses.
Hewett Advances in Singles and Secures Doubles Final Spot
Hewett commenced his day with a dominant 6-4 6-1 win over China’s Ji Zhenxu in the morning. This victory propelled him into the wheelchair men’s singles semi-finals. Later on Thursday, he partnered with fellow Briton Gordon Reid to overcome France’s Stephane Houdet and Ji, winning their wheelchair doubles semi-final 6-4 6-3.
The British pair, who are six-time Wimbledon champions, will now face Japan’s Tokito Oda and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez in the doubles final on Saturday. In their semi-final match, Hewett and Reid were broken twice in the first set but responded strongly by winning four games in a row to clinch the opener. The second set saw a 13-minute delay due to a mechanical issue with Houdet’s wheelchair, but this did not disrupt Hewett and Reid’s rhythm. Hewett is set to face Fernandez again, this time in the wheelchair singles last four on Friday, in the second match scheduled on Court One.
Mixed Fortunes for Other British Players
Elsewhere in the wheelchair draws, other British players experienced mixed fortunes. Andrew Penney lost 6-0 6-1 to Spain’s Martin de la Puente in the men’s wheelchair singles second round. In the women’s wheelchair doubles semi-finals, Britain’s Lucy Shuker and her South African partner Kgothatso Montjane were beaten 6-3 6-2 by Japan’s Yui Kamiji and China’s Zhenzhen Zhu.
The quad doubles semi-finals also saw British representation, with Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade suffering a 6-4 6-1 defeat. They were overcome by the Netherlands’ Sam Schroder and Australia’s Jin Woodman. However, Lapthorne will have another opportunity against Schroder on Friday when they meet in the quad wheelchair singles semi-finals, scheduled for 11:00 BST on court 14.
With Alfie Hewett’s continued strong showing in both singles and doubles, and Andy Lapthorne’s upcoming semi-final, British hopes remain active across the wheelchair categories at Wimbledon.