Kunieda finally gets wheelchair singles title at Wimbledon

By CHRIS LEHOURITES
AP Sports Writer

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — The Wimbledon title kept eluding Shingo Kunieda so he turned to Roger Federer for advice on how to play on grass. That did the trick. Kunieda won his first Wimbledon title in wheelchair singles and his 28th Grand Slam singles title overall. It was his fourth straight major singles title and finally allowed him to complete a career Grand Slam. Kunieda says he asked Federer “how to play on grass and how to think when behind.” The 38-year-old Japanese player defeated Alfie Hewett of Britain 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-5) on No. 3 Court a day after he and partner Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina won the doubles title. Kunieda had only reached one Wimbledon singles final in four previous appearances, finishing as runner-up in 2019.