AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 28, 2023

Alfie Hewett

Press Conference

A. HEWETT/T. Oda

6-3, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: We have Alfie Hewett, Australian Open men's wheelchair champion.

Alfie, third time lucky. How are you feeling coming off the court?

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, can't really describe it at the moment. Third time lucky. Obviously the history of losing last couple of years has haunted me. With there being such a big gap in between end of year and the new year, you really have time to dwell on it. It has stuck with me for, I'd say, the last couple years. The motivation has been growing.

To get out there today and overcome a few shaky nerves at the beginning, play some of the tennis I did, yeah, extremely proud of the efforts and of course the outcome in the end.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Is that why the emotion came out, the tears, the accumulation of not getting over the line?

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, I'd probably say it's my biggest battle, I think, with knowing deep down you can win it, and having to just go again every year.

Maybe my expectations are too high, but with being in the rankings where I'm at, where I sit in the rankings, the ambitions I do have, which is I want to achieve everything similar to Shingo Kunieda, whenever I retire someday, which isn't in the near future, I want to be able to say I've won everything.

This is obviously something that was missing. So with that comes a lot more pressure, which I certainly added to myself inasmuch as I've worked so hard with psychology, my mental stuff, it's natural. When you've not got something, you want it so badly. Yeah, I guess I can be proud of how I overcame that today.

Q. Does that mean Wimbledon becomes an unhealthy obsession for you?

ALFIE HEWETT: I knew someone was going to say that (smiling).

Of course I believe I can win it after the last years' performances. We'll see when we get there what the mentality is like.

I think with this one, why it's such an important one is because it was my first time, and with that I can take into the next Wimbledon or the next Paralympics something that I haven't done before.

It's probably been a while since I have achieved something that I haven't achieved yet, winning New York three times, Roland Garros three times. There's almost a relaxation about going and playing a final because I've done it before. Here I lost twice, especially, and it was eating away.

I knew this week I was probably the best prepped I've ever been physically, in a great place. Tennis was awesome last week. I played some of my best tennis.

Obviously the matches this week have been very clean. Waking up this morning, it was just one more hurdle, got off to a bit of a shaky start, but did well to manage the match in the end.

Q. You just mentioned Shingo's name. Maybe you have talked about this already. How did you find out about his retirement and what was your reaction?

ALFIE HEWETT: Well, it was the first week that I was here in Australia that I heard some rumors that he was retiring. I didn't believe it, because the last time we'd spoken, he wanted some revenge from New York.

Obviously when it got officially announced a few days ago now, it was a big shock. I was sad for the sport. It's sad to see such a legend hang his racquet up, to know that you'll never play a match against him. I always relished the occasion. It was great. He's won a few, I've won a few. He was such a sportsman, great sportsman.

Yeah, his ability to get on the court and fight for everything, especially the Wimbledon match will always stick with me, he's a massive inspiration, not just for me but I know for others.

You just saw the reaction he got not just from the wheelchair community, but also the able-bodied tennis community. So many people respect him so much. He leaves a huge legacy behind.

Q. With Tokito, can you remember what your tennis was like at 16?

ALFIE HEWETT: Probably a little bit similar actually (smiling). I think we have similar attitudes. It's all or nothing a little bit. I said it yesterday. I think he's a confidence player. So when he's playing some of his best tennis, he's rolling the points away, it can be difficult to break that.

Once you just get under his skin a little bit, at that age, I think the vulnerability shows. It showed today. Started chipping returns, a little bit erratic. Probably he'll learn in a few years to manage that a bit better.

That's what I was like at that age. You're just gunning for every point. You want to hit it as hard as you can, and you want to hit a winning shot. I had to take that out of my game a little bit but with a little bit of management.

You don't want to get rid of that flairy stuff, because it's a good thing to have, but just build a few foundations which I'm sure he will now do. So yeah.

Q. About Tokito, once you are young sensation, you became No. 1 when you were 19. When you play against Tokito, did you get extra motivation or it put you more like pressure?

ALFIE HEWETT: I don't really think about him too much. Like, obviously I'll be aware of what a young person's mindset will be like. Of course, he's going to be using confidence. He's had a massive rise in the game in the last year. He has a fearless attitude, which can be unpredictable. You can take that either way really.

Yeah, I see him of course as a threat, like so many other youngsters coming through, people that have been around the tour for a few years now, they're getting the opportunities to improve their game. It's not maybe just the three or four players that would make the semis or finals.

He's going to be well and truly up there. He's already there. He just made a Grand Slam final. I find it ridiculous he's 16 and he's making Grand Slam finals. It's a credit to his talent.

Q. Are you ready to become a figurehead for the sport, which as the world No. 1, now Australian Open champion, you might become with Shingo retiring?

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, I think I'll have to speak with him one day to see how he did it.

Probably one of the last things we said before going out there. It's been on my mind with Shingo retiring, someone's got to step up. I feel like with my ability that I can get close to his record. I got age on my side, I've got the confidence, I've got the game style to back myself in every slam now.

Obviously, you take it one at a time. But I would love the dominance. I would love to be a figurehead for this sport. I think we've already got some role models. See a few of them retired now with Dylan and Shingo. In 5, 10 years' time, something I definitely aspire to want to do. It's not just about winning, I want to try to leave my own legacy.

Yeah, we're in a lot of conversations on how we do that. It's great to win titles, but there's also a deeper meaning behind what we do, as well, yeah.

Q. Do they give you that trophy to smuggle through customs?

ALFIE HEWETT: I don't know. I've been just taking the little runner-up one the last few years (smiling).

We'll see. We'll see. I mean, I have a feeling that it's just for show. I think they give us maybe a slightly smaller trophy to take home with us, but we'll see.