Wheelchair tennis player Joachim Gérard (ITF 4) will face Alfie Hewett (ITF 2) in the first round of Wimbledon. Last month he lost to the Briton at Roland Garros.
“We often run into each other. It was the same in the final of the Australian Open, where I won. I think I already know the draw for the next US Open,” laughs Gérard. “Alfie is a fighter but I like to play against him, even if it ended badly at Roland Garros. They are always matches with a lot of intensity.”
Gérard already won the doubles title at Wimbledon (in 2019 with the Swede Stefan Olsson) but did not make it past the semifinals in the singles. “I know that with my aggressive game, I have the tennis to shine on grass,” emphasizes Gérard, who was preparing for the Liège tennis club TC Grâce, the only club in Belgium to have two natural grass pitches. “I contacted the board after seeing David Goffin’s Instagram story, and I was able to train there four times. The grass is a little higher and the ball bounces a little lower, but it was good to work on my moves. If the serve and return are on schedule, I can put down something beautiful.”
.
