An enthusiastic crowd on No.1 Court showed their appreciation as Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid lifted a fifth Wimbledon trophy together in the men's Wheelchair doubles, sealing their win with a come-from-behind victory over Takuya Miki and Tokita Oda.
"That was something else. I've got goose bumps," said Hewett, following the 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 win in two hours and 20 minutes.
"This is probably the first time that I've experienced something like this ... we dream of atmospheres like this. It doesn't really come around often. I'm glad we rose to the occasion today and gave you something to cheer about."
A delighted Reid agreed. “On match point we were both tearing up a little bit because the atmosphere was electric. My first Wimbledon was in 2008, out on court 53 or something in front of three men and his dog, and my mum and my sister. So if you told me then we'd be on Court No.1 in front of a nearly full stadium ... I'd never have believed it."
Dutch duo Sam Schroder and Niels Vink successfully defended their 2022 Quad Wheelchair doubles title with victory over Australian-Canadian duo Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw. The No.1 seeds survived a 62-minute first set battle, before completing their 7-6(5), 6-0 victory in convincing style.
"That's seven times we've played this year and we've won zero so good job, keep it up," quipped Davidson after the final, which was played in high spirits between the two pairs. "They're No.1 and 2 in the world for a reason, me and Robbie here are just going to keep doing what we do and hopefully we sneak one (win) in eventually."
It was a sixth Grand Slam doubles title for Schroder, and a second at Wimbledon, alongside
his younger compatriot. “It's an amazing achievement for us, we're just really happy
to get another title together,” the 23-year-old said.
On match point we were both tearing up a little bit because the atmosphere was electric
The gentleman’s Wheelchair singles final will be a showdown between the No.1 and No.2 seeds when Oda faces Hewett on Sunday.
With a straight-sets victory over local favourite Reid in the semi-finals, Oda added to an extraordinary rise this year. At just 17, the Japanese star reached the world No.1 ranking after claiming the Roland-Garros title last month.
Hewett, who was runner-up to Oda in Paris, defeated Martin De La Puenta 6-3, 6-2 in
the other men’s semi-final. The 25-year-old took one hour and 29 minutes to complete
his victory, which takes him to the Wimbledon final for a second successive year.
A new champion will be crowned in the Quad Wheelchair singles, when Davidson meets Vink.
The Australian progressed with a three set win over defending champion Schroder in the semi-finals and faces Vink for the chance of a first Grand Slam singles title.
The Dutch No.1 seed knocked out South Africa’s Donald Ramphadi 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour, and is now aiming to complete a career-best season; he was runner up at the Australian Open and won a second Roland-Garros title last month.
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