Alfie Hewett: Australian Open defeat 'tough to take' for world number two

Alfie Hewett was also knocked out in the quarter-finals of the 2017 Australian Open, but reached the doubles final alongside Gustavo Fernandez

World number two Alfie Hewett says his Australian Open wheelchair singles quarter-final defeat by Sweden's Stefan Olsson was "a tough one to take".

The 20-year-old from Norwich took the first set 6-1, but lost the final two 6-3 6-4 to bow out at the first hurdle.

He will, though, still replace last year's winner, Gustavo Fernandez, as world number one, following the Argentine's defeat by Nicolas Peifer.

"There was a lot of my game which had cracks and weaknesses in," Hewett said.

"There were some that have never actually really been there before, so it was a bit strange for me on court to have to deal with some of the errors and the shots that were coming off my racket.

"He saw that and spotted that and used it to his advantage. I think that's why he took so many points at so many crucial times in the game."

The 2017 French Open singles champion will now turn his attention to the doubles tournament which starts on Thursday.

Hewett is top seed alongside fellow British player Gordon Reid, who also lost in the singles quarter-finals, and plays the pairing of Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda at approximately 00:00 GMT.

"We need to pick ourselves up and get together tomorrow and play strong," he told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"Gustavo and Shingo are one of the best pairs out there and they've beaten us before and we know we have to play a very smart game to get through."