Hewett embracing the pressure at Wimbledon

Alfie Hewett believes he’s finally got the mental edge to win a maiden Wimbledon singles title this weekend.

Hewett reached the semi-finals of the men’s wheelchair tournament with a confident 7-6, 6-4 win against experienced Frenchman Stephane Houdet.

The 20-year old is second in the world rankings and heads into the last four as the top seed remaining, after seeing world number one Shingo Kuneida of Japan knocked out by Gustavo Fernandez.

He will now face defending champion Stefan Olsson on Friday after the Swedish world number seven beat Nicolas Peifer 6-2, 6-3.

“When I come here and I know I’ve got friends and family watching and the public eyes are on us, then it’s understandable to be a bit more nervous than normal,” said Hewett, who exited in the singles semi-finals last year.

“I’ve worked quite a lot with my psychologist recently to channel that and turn it into excitement and that’s what I did. I tried not to let it tense me up. I channeled that in a way I can still play how I want.

“The last couple of years I’ve really felt quite nervous out there, I’ve really felt the pressure. This time I actually felt quite calm and I was able to go out there and just enjoy it.

“Steffan is obviously a tough opponent next. He’s a great player on the grass, his style really suits it and it’s a reason why he’s been in the final the last two years.”

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While Hewett was enjoying that winning feeling, there was frustration for 2016 men’s singles champion Gordon Reid.

The Scot competed on court 17 in match prior to Hewett but found the going tough against Belgium’s Joachim Gerard, losing in straight sets to a player ranked a place lower than him in the world rankings.

The 26-year-old has struggled to recapture his singles form of two years ago, where he won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles and Paralympic gold in Rio.

And with former world number one Gerard finding his range with his service game, Reid could not make inroads, despite his pre-match confidence.

“It was a difficult match, I was a little bit nervous and I felt a lot of pressure. I came up against an opponent who was making life difficult for me,” he admitted.

“He was playing the match a little bit more on his terms, he’s got a big serve and when he was serving well like he was, it’s tough to beat him.

“For me, I’m much happier with where I am with my tennis at the minute, it’s just about transferring that from the practice court onto the match court.”

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Reid will get a chance to go again on Friday when he and Hewett contest their men’s doubles semi-final, as they seek a third straight title at the All England Club.

“It’s a second chance to try and go out and correct some of the stuff which went wrong in my singles match,” he added.

“Me and Alfie have had some good results here the last couple of years. I’m looking forward to getting out there again.

“The last two doubles wins the last couple of years were big highlights for both of us. If we could come and do three in a row it would be pretty special.”

There was also disappointment for Lucy Shuker, as she lost 6-2, 6-1 to Holland’s Aniek Van Koot in the women’s wheelchair singles.

Shuker will be back in action alongside German partner Sabine Ellerbrock in the women’s doubles. The 38-year old takes on Van Koot and Marjolein Buis as she seeks to improve on her eight finals appearances in the last decade by taking an elusive Wimbledon title.