Grand Slam
Roland Garros 2025: Alfie Hewett through to fifth singles final in Paris
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Alfie Hewett pulled off one of the most remarkable victories in his celebrated career today after he beat Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(12-10) to book his place in his fifth French Open men’s wheelchair singles final at Roland Garros.
Facing the player that he beat from a set and 2-0 down in the 2017 final on his Grand Slam tournament debut, world No.2 Hewett saved two match points in the match tie-break in the deciding set to set up a rematch of the 2023 final and the Paris 2024 men’s singles gold medal match against Japan’s Tokito Oda.
French Open singles champion in 2017, 2020 and 2021, a delighted Hewett said: “I think the strongest bit of what I did today was my mentality, because when momentum’s with him it’s very difficult to disturb his rhythm. I was 5-3 down in the third and, for me, the game at 5-4 was crucial, but I didn’t imagine it would go all the way down to 12-10 in a third set breaker.
“I’m just happy that I didn’t bottle it. It means everything to me, to be honest, as I had flashbacks (of last year’s semi-final) popping into my head towards the end of the third set and I didn’t want history to repeat itself.”
Hewett opened his bid to avenge last year’s semi-final loss to world No.4 Fernandez well, his fourth break in a tight first set earning him a 5-4 lead before he delivered a sublime looping forehand winner to secure the set after 47 minutes.
Unable to fully recover from 2-4 down in the second set, Hewett responded brilliantly after physio treatment to his right shoulder in-between sets and opened up a 2-0 lead in the decider, only to find Fernandez equal to the challenge as the two-time champion fought back to take a 5-3 lead.
But Hewett would not be denied, forcing the third set match tie-break without allowing Fernandez the opportunity of a match point.
As has been the case throughout much of his journey to ten Grand Slam singles titles, Hewett’s return of serve and topspin backhand proved crucial at key moments. He saved match points at 9-8 and 10-9 in the match tie-break before forcing Fernandez into a final error on his own first match point.
Hewett will bid for two titles on Saturday, with he and fellow Brit Gordon Reid aiming to secure their 23rd Grand Slam wheelchair doubles title together, along with his singles final. The doubles final was postponed on Friday due to Fernandez and Oda still needing to finish their doubles semi-final suspended on Thursday evening due to rain.
