Wimbledon 2023: Alfie Hewett will use disappointment of last year's loss to motivate him at SW19
- Published
Wheelchair tennis: Alfie Hewett on lessons he learned during classification uncertainty
Wimbledon 2023 on the BBC |
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Venue: All England Club Dates: 3-16 July |
Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app |
Britain's Alfie Hewett says he will use the disappointment of last year's Wimbledon wheelchair singles final to motivate him in his bid to complete a career Grand Slam.
Hewett has won every singles major bar Wimbledon and lost in the 2022 final after serving for the title four times.
He won the Australian Open in January and reached Sunday's singles final on the Queen's grass courts.
"A failure isn't a failure - it's an opportunity to learn," he said.
Hewett will compete in both the singles and doubles at Wimbledon with the wheelchair competition beginning on 12 July.
He had never reached the Wimbledon singles final until last year when he was ultimately edged out 4-6 7-5 7-6 (10-5) by the now retired Shingo Kunieda.
"It was obviously difficult in the moment - it was one of the toughest losses of my career," the 25-year-old told BBC Sport.
"To be two points away from winning it shows how far I have come and has given me the belief that I can do it.
"Going back this year, there will still be a little part of me remembering those feelings and using that as extra oomph to get over the line."
Hewett is a 24-time major champion, having won seven singles titles and 17 doubles titles with compatriot Gordon Reid.
Hewett, who has Perthes disease which affects his hip and femur, feared his career may have been cut short in 2019 when there were changes to classification rules.
Under initial changes by the International Tennis Federation, Hewett's disease was not judged severe enough to need to use a wheelchair, which would have made him ineligible to compete.
However, the rules were later reviewed to take into account the specific physical demands of wheelchair tennis, meaning he was free to continue playing.
"If anyone gets told they might not have a job in 18 months' time, you start panicking and worrying about the future," Hewett said.
"I wasn't sure whether I could still do what I had been doing for the last 10 years. It is not something I'd wish upon anyone.
"It was scary and brought a lot of anxiety. I'm very thankful for the people that were around me during that time because they helped me keep fighting.
"In the end, I got the outcome I wished for. From a mentality point of view, it was probably the biggest life lesson I have ever been given."
Hewett said it would mean a lot to win Wimbledon, where he has received vocal support from the home crowd over the years.
"It is something that I have dreamt of since playing on the grass in 2015 at Wimbledon," he added.
"It would probably be [my] most proud Grand Slam, not just because it is Wimbledon but it has that tradition and aura about it.
"It is an incredible event and that obviously holds a lot of meaning behind it".
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