Alfie Hewett: Wimbledon champion cannot remember final point

Wimbledon men’s wheelchair doubles champion Alfie Hewett has revealed that he forgot the winning rally of their final.

The 18-year-old won his first Grand Slam title along with Gordon Reid.

The second seeds came from a set behind to beat top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer 4-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6).

“I actually had to re-watch the match point because I just couldn’t remember what had happened,” Hewett told BBC Radio Norfolk.

“One of the players asked what was the rally like at match point and I couldn’t answer them, I just couldn’t remember what had happened – it was an insane moment.

“Thoughts start coming in your head about winning two or three points before, you’ve just got to try to keep as calm as possible.”

Despite his success, Hewett was asked if he would rather be a Wimbledon champion or watch his team Norwich City win at Wembley? “Wembley, all day long.”

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Andy Murray: Wimbledon champion 'triggers second golden period'

As a triple Grand Slam champion who says he feels “more motivated than ever”, Andy Murray may just have triggered the second golden period of his career.

Winning two Grand Slams and an Olympic gold medal in the space of 12 months, as he did during the summers of 2012 and 2013, will be an exceptionally difficult trick to reproduce. But he appears to have time on his side.

Murray will turn 30 next May. Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg did not win a single Grand Slam between them after entering their fourth decade, but players like Murray and Novak Djokovic – who is just seven days younger than the Briton – seem to have the attributes required to extend their winning years.

Fitness is one major element, and the back surgery Murray had in September 2013 has enabled him to expand his game on all surfaces. Another is desire, which cannot be taken for granted.

• Tom Fordyce: Murray cold-blooded in his brilliance
• ‘Amazing, amazing, amazing’ – how the world reacted to Murray’s win

“Before I won Wimbledon in 2013, I was unbelievably motivated to win it,” Murray told BBC Sport as he reflected on his second All England Club title.

“But then after I won there, I didn’t quite know where to go or what I was trying to do. It felt like this was all I was meant to do, really.”

The extreme motivation required has now returned – thanks to his daughter Sophia, and his lifelong rival.

Losing three Grand Slam finals to world number one Djokovic in 18 months, and becoming a father who really would like his daughter to remember him playing at the highest level, has stoked his inner fire.

It is not fair to assume Murray will win more Grand Slam titles. Who, after Wimbledon 2013, thought he would have to wait three more years to add a third?

And don’t read too much into Djokovic’s third-round exit at Wimbledon. He has, after all, featured in six of the past seven Grand Slam finals – winning five of them. He is likely to arrive refreshed at the Rio Olympics and ready to do battle once more.

Between them, though, Murray and Djokovic could win the lion’s share of Grand Slam titles over the next three years.

It will be very tough for developing talents such as Dominic Thiem, Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev to match them consistently over that timeframe – and other than beaten Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic it is hard to identify a player in his mid-twenties who has serious potential to become a multiple Grand Slam winner.

Murray’s next goal is to defend his Olympic singles title and to win a medal with brother Jamie in the doubles. He will talk to coach Ivan Lendl this week about the best way to prepare for Rio and the US Open, which follows on just two weeks later.

After losing five finals in Melbourne, Murray will feel he has a score to settle with the Australian Open – and given his performance on clay over the past two years, the French Open should also be on his bucket list.

Murray enjoys setting himself new targets as his career progresses. For most of his 11 years as a professional, he has prioritised Grand Slams over rankings, but a tilt at the world number one spot is now becoming more enticing – and more realistic.

“I’d rather set the bar as high as possible and not quite achieve it than say I’d be happy finishing at five in the world, and finishing at three,” the Wimbledon champion explained.

“I’d love to get to number one, obviously, but I think a lot of people are forgetting what Novak’s done because he lost in the third round here. The last 18 months have been unbelievable – he’s hardly lost any matches at all – so I know that if I’m going to get there, I’m going to have to win more matches against him.”

There are currently almost 5,000 ranking points between Djokovic and Murray – which is a vast margin. However, the ATP rankings are calculated over a 12-month period, and if you look only at the points amassed since the start of the year, Djokovic’s lead shrinks to 815 points.

Were Murray able to continue his rich vein of form – and go on to beat Djokovic in the final of the US Open in September – then that advantage would be cancelled out.

Game on.

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Defending Champ Ram, Young Advance In Newport

Defending Champ Ram, Young Advance In Newport

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Cuevas, Almagro, Monteiro Highlights Hamburg 2016

Cuevas, Almagro, Monteiro Highlights Hamburg 2016

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Donskoy Saves 2 M.P., Bedene Advances In Bastad

Donskoy Saves 2 M.P., Bedene Advances In Bastad

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Nishioka Cracks Top 100 With Winnetka Challenger Title

Nishioka Cracks Top 100 With Winnetka Challenger Title

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Sousa Delighted For Portugal Win Bastad 2016

Sousa Delighted For Portugal Win Bastad 2016

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'It’s hard to process where I fit in among all those great champions'

I knew I must have achieved something special on Sunday because I got a hug from Ivan Lendl.

It’s usually just a handshake but for Wimbledon he makes an exception – and I think he might even have got a bit emotional.

My mum was teasing him about it while we were on our way to the Champions’ Ball, because a few people messaged us with Gifs zooming in on Ivan during the final – his eyes definitely looked a bit red and teary!

I asked him: “Did you have a cry?” He said: “No, of course not. I’ve just got hay fever.”

There was no dancing for me and [ladies’ singles champion] Serena Williams at the ball – I think the tradition had finished until Novak Djokovic wanted to do it last year.

It’s a nice thing to do but it never really happened this year, and I was just lucky to leave the stage in one piece.

When Serena and I were coming off the stage together a few people were shouting “dance, dance” – and I got distracted and literally fell down the stairs. I had dress shoes on with slippy soles and things almost got a bit ugly.

Fortunately, I got away with it and think a few of my team definitely woke up feeling worse than me.

I had a few drinks, which I would normally only do to calm down if I’m on a bumpy flight, but some of the others pushed it a bit harder.

I got to bed at about 4am and was up at 8am, and I’m happy to report there was no sore head – although maybe a bit of dizziness!

It was a great night though, everyone enjoyed themselves, and those moments after winning something as big as Wimbledon are really special.

• Tom Fordyce: Murray cold-blooded in his brilliance
• ‘Amazing, amazing, amazing’ – how the world reacted to Murray’s win

‘It just feels surreal’

There was no thought of skipping my regular ice bath after the final – I needed it.

I remembered that the last time I won in 2013, I didn’t do recovery after the final – and I then sat in a car and went to the ball.

I felt awful that night. Just standing up was trouble, so I thought I’d better do something this time around. I am 29 now, after all.

The nicest thing for me after the match was the time spent in the locker room with some great champions.

Stefan Edberg was there, Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Richard Krajicek, and obviously Ivan – he wasn’t a bad player.

We weren’t talking about tennis but just chatting about other stuff, like kids and life in general. That was really nice to be a part of.

It just feels surreal chatting to them about other things and having them come to see me play. When I remember watching them as I was growing up – and even now – I still sometimes look at videos of them playing. It’s weird.

To see my name go up on the winners’ board for a second time is amazing but it’s hard to process where I fit in among all those great names right now.

I think maybe that’s something for when I finish playing and look back.

‘I love the tennis life’

There might have been a bit more pressure going into the final because it was an opportunity, without Novak on the other side of the net, but I think my experience helped in the tight moments.

I would love to now go on and get to number one in the rankings but it will be incredibly difficult as Novak’s consistency has been unbelievable.

I’ll need to keep up my level of the last couple of months right through until the end of the year to close the gap.

That means more hard work, and there’s no doubt that physically it is very demanding, but there are way worse jobs in the world.

I really enjoy training, it’s not something I hate. I like practising, I like going to the gym, I like trying to get better physically.

The hardest part for me is when the cameras are on. That’s when there’s pressure and it’s stressful. But I love the rest of the life. I love the travelling, going to new cities, new countries.

The matches are the hard part and everything that goes on around that, and that’s why I’ve got to make sure I enjoy special moments like this.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport’s Piers Newbery.

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Milos Raonic: Wimbledon finalist and coach keen to keep John McEnroe

Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic is keen to continue working with John McEnroe, according to coach Riccardo Piatti.

Seven-time Grand Slam winner McEnroe joined Raonic’s team in May, and the 25-year-old has since reached the final at Queen’s and Wimbledon.

Piatti, who has worked with the Canadian since 2013, said McEnroe’s influence was “good for everybody”.

“John has great experience, he loves this game, he loves to work in a team and everybody wants him,” he said.

“Milos wants that, and I hope he will continue that relationship with him.”

Raonic praised McEnroe after his Wimbledon defeat by Andy Murray, saying the American had encouraged him to show more emotion on court.

“I think we’ll probably try to find an extent that it can work, he can help me, and try to make the most of it,” he said.

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Andy Murray: Wimbledon champion likely to miss GB Davis Cup quarter-final

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray says it is “unlikely” he will play in Great Britain’s Davis Cup quarter-final against Serbia in Belgrade this week.

The 29-year-old beat Milos Raonic in straight sets on Sunday to win his second Wimbledon title.

A final decision on his Davis Cup participation will be made after talks with captain Leon Smith.

World number one Novak Djokovic, beaten in the third round at Wimbledon, has already withdrawn from the Serbia team.

Murray will travel to Belgrade even if he does not play because he feels a “responsibility” to the team.

The Scot told BBC Sport: “All the guys on the team are great. Winning the Davis Cup was one of the best moments of my career, and the whole team’s.

“We are a team and whether I’m playing or not I’ll always try to support.”

The London 2012 Olympic gold medallist said defending his title in Rio next month is his next big priority.

“The Olympics is important to me,” he said. “I loved the two I was involved in and winning the gold medal made me realise how special it is.”

Murray played a pivotal role as Britain won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 by beating Belgium in Ghent last November.

The Scot won all three of his matches on clay in Flanders, and contributed to 11 of the 12 points won by Britain across the campaign.

In March, in his first event back following the birth of daughter Sophia, he won three matches in three days as GB began the defence of their title with victory over Japan in Birmingham.

Murray beat Kei Nishikori 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 3-6 4-6 6-3 in four hours and 54 minutes to ensure Britain will again compete in the World Group in 2017.

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