Alfie Hewett triumphs in Melbourne as one of four British champions last week
• 3 MINUTE READ
Catch up on the latest from the British tennis stars competing in ATP, WTA and ITF tours across the world.
Hewett retains Melbourne title
Alfie Hewett clinched his first big title of the season at the Melbourne Open Super Series as preparations for the Australian Open took full flight down under.
Hewett retained his wheelchair singles title with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over rising star, Tokita Oda, in the final.
An impressive week for the world No.2 also saw him claim big wins over Dutch star Ruben Spaargaren – who defeated him the week before in Victoria – and third seed Joachim Gerard.
“I’m delighted to get the victory today,” said Hewett. “It’s the perfect way to head into the Australian Open and it was one of my cleanest performances, so I’m really happy.”
Hewett also finished runner-up in the men’s doubles alongside Gordon Reid having been forced into awarding a walkover to Gerard and Takua Miki in the final.
Brits on top in Sheffield
It was a weekend of all-British champions at the M25 Sheffield, with Dan Little, Scott Duncan and Marcus Willis lifting their first silverware of the season.
Little – who came through qualifying to reach the main draw – only dropped one set on his way to the singles final in Sheffield and closed out a run of seven straight victories with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Charles Broom in the final. The win marked Little's first pro title of his career.
Duncan and Willis continued their strong form from the back end of 2022 to win their fourth title together in the men’s doubles.
The pair defeated Sweden’s Corentin Denolly and France’s Simon Freund 6-3, 6-4 in Friday’s final.
British finalists from Spain to Thailand
The strong performances kept coming for the Brits last week as Felix Gill, Jan Choinski, Stuart Parker, Freya Christie and Ali Collins all finished runners-up at different events across the world.
21-year-old Gill started his season with a bang, fighting his way to the final of the M25 Monacor. The young Brit knocked out second seed Alexey Vatutin in the semi-final, but missed out on a first title of the year against Spain’s Daniel Rincon 6-3, 6-3.
Choinski and Parker made their way to the ATP Challenger doubles final in Nonthaburi as an alternate pairing and defeated the second seeds in their opening match.
The Brits progressed to the final having won six consecutive sets but lost out to top seeds Ji Sung Nam and Min-Kyu Song 6-4, 6-4.
Staying with the doubles, British duo Christie and Collins finished as runners-up in the W40 Tallin. Christie and Collins were defeated by top seeds Jessie Aney and Anna Siskova 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-7 in the final.
