US OPEN

September 10, 2023

Alfie Hewett

Press Conference

A. HEWETT/G. Reid

6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations. Hour and 29 minutes. Give us your thoughts on the match as you win another Grand Slam.

ALFIE HEWETT: I don't think the performance was my best of the week (smiling). But, you know, sometimes you've just got to find a way to win. That was one of those matches where I did just that. When you're in a final you just want to get over the line, and obviously I did that today.

Really happy with that performance.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. That was a tough match against Gordon, actually. He was finding ways to frustrate you. You were finding ways to frustrate him. It was proper game of chess out there, wasn't it?

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, absolutely. That's what I came to expect from him. We know each other's games really well from the doubles court. We always have to be adaptive and ready to change in the moment because any player can do anything on the court. Skill sets are quite varied from both of us.

Today I think I managed to just do enough from my service games to consistently win those. And that was probably the difference really in the end was just a few more first serves in crucial moments.

I think he had a few double faults crept in, especially in his service games later on in the second set. That was pretty much the difference I think in the match.

But, yeah, overall it was a fun but sometimes frustrating game of tennis.

Q. I was going to say there was one moment -- you show your emotions on court, we see when you're frustrated, we can't help it -- but there was one moment on court where you could really see your frustration, and that's when you got your first championship point and you let it slip. It felt like you did the Alfie Hewitt thing of, I'm going to be mad at myself and use that madness to pound me through the next game.

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, I feel I was in control of that game and then obviously got a championship point and didn't make a good decision on that. The next three points Gordon served well, the next minute you're 5-3. If there's one thing about Gordon is that he never gives up.

When you have that opportunity, you sort of kick yourself a little bit when it goes back in, but then I can be happy with the way I responded. It's a big thing I'm trying to work on in my game right now is it's okay to be emotional out there and show your reactions as long as it doesn't negatively impact you. It's how you bounce back the next point and reset.

I did that really well and won the game in the end. Showed some good mentality and good confidence.

Q. For you there has been a lot of wheelchair tennis on Louis Armstrong this year, hasn't there? A lot of it. They proper bumped up the schedule. Has that really been a really good thing for you? Obviously it wasn't the crowds that you had at Wimbledon, but you played on those big stages and even Dahnon and Joshua Jones yesterday.

ALFIE HEWETT: It's really good. And it's not just about the men's. It's about the women's, the quads, the juniors, and the sport getting its recognition. If there is an availability or available slot on that court, it's like why not put them on and why not put our matches on there? It's a great opportunity to broadcast it.

The more it's picking up, the more the other tournaments and slams realize there is an interest. Okay, it's not packing out Louis Armstrong or anything like that. It's still good interest that people may not watch or may have not seen wheelchair tennis before. Some might come back full. You never know out there who's really watching.

Just from the socials that I obviously oversee, it's always positive and it's always a good reaction whenever these matches get put on the show courts. As players it's an absolute dream. It's amazing someone like a junior can sit there and dream that they can play on Louis Armstrong, Court No. 1, all these iconic stadiums in tennis, we can play on them.

That just shows how good wheelchair tennis is leading the way in terms of disability sport.

Q. You get to keep this one for two years, don't you, because there is no US Open wheelchair tennis next year.

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, exactly. I still prefer a gold medal though, any day (smiling).

Obviously it means a lot to win four. A Grand Slam is a pinnacle of the year and it's the last one, so part of me would have been -- part of me -- all of me would have been very upset if (indiscernible) again today. Three on the bounce would have been a tough one to take.

But now it's 50% win ratio in terms of slams this year, which is a very, very good ratio to have. That was my goal this year was to win two slams, because I've been going one a year at this current rate, but I wanted to become a little bit more dominant. To make finals in all slams is not easy to do. Credit to my team and the prep work that goes into it the whole year.

Q. I'm wondering if there's any changes in your tennis or your life or team since the last year you came to New York for the US Open?

ALFIE HEWETT: No, not really. No, I have been settled for a while now and I think that was a big thing. Classification at the end of '21 finally gave me that opportunity to settle and think about the future. Then it was, like, who do I want in my team around me, where do I want to be based, where do I want to live, where do I want to get my enjoyment from away from tennis? Because that's also a big part of it. I want to be around family. Very lucky enough to meet a lovely girlfriend from my home as well, and thankfully she stayed around as well.

Those things do make a massive contribution because the tennis player's life is very hectic and chaotic. You're going from city to city and trainings all over the place. Trying to find a good balance away from the tennis court is so important. And right now I'm dedicating a lot to the sport. I'm training away from home half the week, but then making sure that I don't lose my mind and go crazy and spend some time with friends, girlfriend, and family at home.

Yeah, I think I'm getting a lot of things right at the moment and want to continue it.

Q. Where is home and where is training?

ALFIE HEWETT: So I'm from Norwich, which is east of England. That's family. I grew up there. Did all my training there.

I moved to London to train at the National Tennis Center. That's where Craig Allen, my coach is there, and then I have a coach, Ben Collingwood, back at home. It's important for me to have home life, because there was a time where I moved to London full time and it was just a bit too much for me.

You learn about yourself and what you need. I wasn't particularly happy. So I chose to go slit and go more 50/50. It's a lot of traveling, but as long as I beat the traffic, it's all right.

Q. I would like to ask you, we're gonna see on the men's singles, it's always a different champion in more than a decade, but you are defend your title. The US Open is your best slam. Is there any reason why you are so successful with the US Open?

ALFIE HEWETT: Yeah, good question. I wish I knew the winning ingredients about it, but I think just the surface plays a massive part of it. From day one since I have been in the grounds, I have always enjoyed it.

When I look at my game, I hit with a lob spin. I'm very aggressive in my movement. I try and hold the baseline a lot. Even when I'm in defense I like to rip it and transition up the courts and attack, which on a clay court, on a grass court, it's not as easy to do. It becomes more about the first four balls, whereas on the hard court it's a lot more complex, a little more tactical.

I think the bounce is what I'm used to. I train on hard courts back at home, so it's probably a big reason as to why I do that. And then I think the other part is the psychological aspect of coming in to an event where you feel at home and you feel happy, you feel like you can do it again because you have done it before.

When you've done something like win a Grand Slam once, the next time you're there you have that belief. There's no guarantee that you will do it, but you know the feeling and it isn't just a feeling. It's very difficult to be able to put your feet on it. It's a feeling that, okay, I can do well here, and you feel confident and you tell yourself that anything is possible here.

Right now I'm just on this wave at the US Open run. I'm loving it, enjoying it, my game is really effective on it. But, you know, there will become a point where I don't win and have got to enjoy these moments because the game is going to get stronger. The game is already strong. Having to keep on my toes. I'm trying to take that mentality I have here to other slams. You know, Wimbledon, elephant in the room. That's not happened before.

I try and learn from these events even though I just want to enjoy it right now, actually dissecting it, what is it that's working so effectively, and taking that the next tournament and the next slam.

I think that's why this year has probably been "the" most successful year for me. I have made four Grand Slam finals, won two of them. I think there's only a few events I have played where I haven't made a singles final. Those stats are quite good. That's because I'm very keen on learning and developing.