For the third time this year Tokito Oda and Alfie Hewett, the No.1 and No.2 players in the world, stared at each other across the net in a Grand Slam final – and for the second time, Oda won.
The 19-year-old Japanese fought his way back against the crowd’s favourite to claim his second Wimbledon title 3-6, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes.
The skill, speed and power of both men was remarkable; the atmosphere on court was unforgettable. It was a battle royal.
How had Oda managed to turn it around? “I have no idea,” Oda said with a laugh.
He knew what to expect from his old foe: they had played 16 finals over the last few years and Oda had won 10 of them. That he managed to win the 17th obviously made him happy. That he did it here made all the more special.
“Two years ago, I won this tournament,” he said. “This tournament is different from the other tournaments. It’s so beautiful and everything is different. I like to play with the white shirts – everything is special for me. Motivation before the matches is definitely different so I really appreciate this moment.
“I love tennis and I love to play on the big stadium. That was definitely a battle with Alfie but I really enjoy this moment. Maybe 100 per cent of the people were cheering for Alfie but I really enjoyed that moment. I’m really happy right now.”
Hewett, too, would never forget the moment. He completed his career Grand Slam by winning the title last year and even if the disappointment of losing his crown hurt, the way the crowd had come out in force to watch the wheelchair matches eased the pain.
“It’s incredible,” the 27-year-old said. “Last year was obviously such a special moment for me, my family, my team, everyone who’s been on this journey with me to clinch my first ever Wimbledon singles trophy 12 months ago but, to be honest, I don’t think trophies can beat this sort of atmosphere and this sort of support. When you lose, to have this amount of love and support behind you is even better.
“This sort of atmosphere doesn’t happen to us on a regular basis. It’s really incredible what’s happened over the years at Wimbledon and the amount of support that wheelchair tennis has got.
“To come here and play in front of you guys – obviously congratulations to Kito because it was a good battle out there, an incredible performance and well deserved – but to live tennis matches like this is what we both dream of. And we said that at the net: to have an audience like this, win or lose, that’s the real win, I think, today.”
It was a battle of the top two in the gentlemen’s quad Wheelchair singles, too, as the best in the world, Niels Vink from the Netherlands, beat his compatriot and world No.2 Sam Schroder 6-3, 6-3.
The two Dutchmen have dominated the Grand Slam circuit for the past four years. Of the 14 major finals that have been contested since the start of 2022, one or both of them have been involved. They have faced each other nine times now over that time span and Vink’s win on Sunday edged him ahead 5-4 in that trophy rivalry.
The latest victory put Vink at the top of the Wimbledon quad Wheelchair leaderboard. He had now won his third title here giving him more wins than any other man. It also left him as only the second player to win three or more titles – he trails his compatriot Diede De Groot by three trophies (she has six).
In the ladies’ Wheelchair doubles, Chinese duo Xiaohui Li and Ziying Wang (the ladies' Wheelchair singles champion) took 55 minutes to claim the title, beating Angelica Bernal of Colombia and Ksenia Chasteau of France 6-3, 6-1.