Alfie Hewett is firmly in the mix for a remarkable Wimbledon double after a grueling but impressive Thursday that saw the 28-year-old claim victories in both the wheelchair singles and doubles draws.
Hewett opened his day on the grass of the All England Club with a clinical 6-4, 6-1 demolition of China's Ji Zhenxu, booking his place in the wheelchair singles semi-finals. The 10-time Grand Slam singles champion barely broke sweat in the second set, showcasing the kind of precision and confidence that has defined his career at the top of the sport.
Later in the day, Hewett partnered fellow Briton Gordon Reid, together a formidable six-time Wimbledon doubles champion pairing, against France's Stephane Houdet and Ji once more. The match had a dramatic interruption midway through when a mechanical issue with Houdet's wheelchair caused a 13-minute delay, but Hewett and Reid refused to be disrupted, closing out a 6-4, 6-3 victory to advance to Saturday's doubles final.
Their opponents in that showpiece will be Japan's Tokito Oda and Argentina's Gustavo Fernandez, and it's Fernandez who Hewett must first face in the singles semi-finals on Friday, with that match scheduled as the second on Court One.
Elsewhere, it was a tough day for other British wheelchair competitors. Andrew Penney fell heavily to Spain's Martin de la Puente, while Lucy Shuker and Kgothatso Montjane were knocked out of the women's doubles. Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade also suffered defeat in the quad doubles, though Lapthorne gets another crack at Sam Schroder in the quad singles semi-finals on Friday.
Hewett's pursuit of history has been a popular storyline among TennisDraw users, many of whom have backed him to go deep in both draws throughout the fortnight.
