Quad wheelchair tennis world No.1 Dylan Alcott will aim to repeat his Rio 2016 heroics when the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics tennis event kicks off on Friday.
Alcott is the top seed in the 16-player quad singles knockout draw and takes on Japan’s Mitsuteru Moroishi in his opening-round match.
He is projected to meet No.3 seed Andy Lapthorne in the semifinals and No.2 seed Sam Schroder in the final, his primary rivals who have each stopped him in the past two US Open finals.
DRAW: Wheelchair Tennis quad singles
The quad singles gold medal match is scheduled for Thursday 2 September, with the women’s and men’s singles gold medal matches taking place on Friday 3 and Saturday 4 September respectively.
In Rio five years ago, Alcott beat Lapthorne in the quad singles gold medal match and teamed with countryman Heath Davidson to win the quad doubles gold, completing one of the finest campaigns of his illustrious career.
He will again team up with Davidson in the quad doubles event in Tokyo.
Alcott arrives in Tokyo in stellar form, having won five titles in 2021 – including the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon trophies – to build a season win-loss record of 14-1.
He remains on track to win a stunning Golden Grand Slam, should he go on to win Paralympic singles gold in Tokyo and then next month’s US Open.
Such results would earn him the sport’s five biggest titles in one season.
Gold on home soil for Kunieda?
Meanwhile, the men’s singles draw – a 56-player knockout affair in which the top eight seeds receive first-round byes – is headlined by local star Shingo Kunieda.
The world No.1 is seeking a second title of 2021 but will be wary of a pair of talented Brits as he seeks a gold medal on home soil.
DRAW: Wheelchair Tennis men's singles
One of those is fifth seed Gordon Reid, the reigning Paralympic singles gold medallist who could meet Kunieda in the semifinals, after recently stopping him in the first round at Wimbledon.
The other is No.2 seed Alfie Hewett, who could await Kunieda in the gold medal clash in a rematch of their Roland Garros final – also won by Hewett.
Third seed Joachim Gerard of Belgium enters the Paralympics as the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, and has landed in the same half of the draw as Hewett.
Dominant De Groot on 19-match win streak
The 32-player women’s singles knockout draw is headed by dominant AO 2021 champion Diede de Groot.
Like Alcott, world No.1 De Groot has since gone on to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon among seven titles in 2021, and boasts a sparkling win-loss record of 24-1.
She takes a 19-match winning streak into Tokyo, where second seed Yui Kamiji will be her biggest threat for the gold medal.
DRAW: Wheelchair Tennis women's singles
Kamiji, who lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony, handed De Groot her only loss of 2021 in the final of the Melbourne Wheelchair Open in February, before falling to the Dutchwoman in both the Australian and French Open finals.
Kamiji begins her Tokyo 2020 campaign against Argentine Maria Florencia Moreno, while De Groot faces Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana in round one.
Making history ??
— ITF (@ITFTennis) August 25, 2021
On Tuesday Yui Kamiji became the first #WheelchairTennis player to light the Paralympic Cauldron at #Tokyo2020 ?#Paralympics