Alfie Hewett claimed his first men’s singles title of 2015 on Sunday as Cantley’s young wheelchair tennis star completed a brace of victories at the ITF 3 Series Alpi del Mare tournament in Cuneo, Italy, with the result seeing his tally of doubles titles this season rise to three.
After his first visit to Australia in January and subsequent tournaments in the Netherlands and Britain, 17-year-old Hewett’s return to mainland Europe saw the second seed start his singles campaign by defeating Germany’s Guido Nespethal before earning a 6-1, 7-5 win over Frenchman Thomas Vinatier.
He went on to beat Austria’s former world No. 3 and fourth seed Martin Legner 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-finals before Sunday’s 6-3, 6-4 win over French top seed and world No. 14 Frederic Cattaneo in the final brought world No. 19 Hewett another win this season over a higher ranked opponent.
“I’ve been working really hard to get fitter and stronger and this week seemed to highlight that,” said Hewett, the only Brit on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme contesting the Italian tournament. “I thought I dominated all the matches I played. I was feeling really confident going into the singles final, but nervous, too, as I had never beaten Cattaneo before. But after the first few games I knew this was mine for the taking and I really did perform so I'm very pleased. I just have to keep up the training and get prepared for my next tournament in Rome in just under two months and then I have a busy summer.”
A hectic second day of competition for Hewett saw him play one singles and two doubles matches in one day, but despite his busy schedule his second senior doubles event partnering Dutchman Carlos Anker ended with their first title together.
Despite being unseeded for the doubles, Hewett and Anker beat Nespethal and Coronado 6-2, 7-5 in the last eight before edging out the experienced French pairing of Cattaneo and Laurent Giammartini 6-1, 1-6, (10-7) after a match tie-break in the semi-finals. They battled through another match tie-break in Saturday’s doubles final, eventually beating Rody de Bie of the Netherlands and Sebastien Husser of France 6-1, 4-6, (13-11).
“The doubles was very tough, especially as we were not seeded and I had to play three matches in one day on Friday,” said British No. 4 Hewett. “But we played smart and used our respective strengths and we managed to keep it together in both of the match tie-breaks we played. So again, I’m very happy and look forward to building on another positive win.”
@alfiehewett6 celebrates doubles victory in Cuneo