Britain’s Alfie Hewett has tasted plenty of doubles success on the lawns of SW19 but now he is looking to make his mark in singles.
With his brilliant backhand and fighting spirit it’s fair to say Alfie Hewett has all the skills in his locker to add many more Grand Slam titles to his name over the course of his career.
And heading into this years Wimbledon he’s hoping that the work he’s been putting in during training will lead to increased confidence on the green stuff and will ultimately see him claim his first singles title at Wimbledon, whether that happens this year or at a future Championships
“‘I think I’ve come to learn this is a longer process and it’s just about adapting,” he told Two Bounce Tennis.
“Grass if I’m honest about it isn’t my natural surface. We talk a lot in tennis about game styles and you know I don’t have a massive serve or as much of a feel for the surface as maybe some of the other players on tour.
“Movement is a massive thing thing and I rely heavily on that fluidity on the court but that doesn’t happen on grass you need that upper body strength that’s why you see the likes of Jo (Gerard) and Gustavo (Fernandez) winning here because they’re big guys so they can stop and get going again lot more easily.”
Already the owner of four Wimbledon doubles titles alongside compatriot Reid, and the 2019 Queens singles title, he’s definitely impressed on grass and shown that his game style can do damage.
But since March this year he’s been working to better prepare himself to chase even more titles on a surface which he’s only played around 20 competitive matches on over the course of his career.
And focusing on learning the “tricks of the trade” when it comes to grass court tennis and working on the areas he feels where there are weaknesses that his opponents have previously exploited.
“Yeah the slice that was something that was quite obvious to a lot of people but I definitely feel I’m way better prepared this year with that one.Literally for six weeks it was just slice, slice, slice and then I went to Paris and I was like how do I hit a reverse again?” he said laughing.
It’s paid dividends too as you could clearly see in his two and a half hour tussle against Gerard in the Queens singles semi-final. Hewett giving as good as he got when it came to the slice.
And whilst he may not have got the win on that occasion you could see the progress he’d made with hard work and determination.
So surely he must be feeling confident going into his first singles match at SW19, right?
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself cause what will be will be,” Hewett said. “This year it’s understanding that if it’s not this year, it could be next. My focus is on learning and adapting and seeing where that leads.”
