Kaito Oda Serves Up History: Japanese Star Reaches Paralympic Final in Thrilling Tennis Showdown
Kaito Oda
Photo courtesy of Getty Images On the 7th, the wheelchair tennis competition at the Paris Paralympics (Paris, France, red clay) saw the second seed men’s singles final between Kaito Oda and top seed Andy Hewett (Great Britain) scheduled for the second match on Centre Court. The first match on the same court is scheduled to start at 8:30pm Japan time (1:30pm local time).
Oda Kaito vs Hewett 1 point report
Kaito Oda and others in the wheelchair tennis singles pairings at the Paris Paralympics
The two have met 15 times in the past, with Hewett winning 8 and losing 7. Their most recent match was in the final of the French Riviera Open (France/Viot, red clay, ITF Super Series) in June this year, where Oda won 7-5, 6-3.
Oda, 18, is ranked second in the world and is making his debut at the Paralympics. At just 18 years old, he has already won four Grand Slam titles, and last year he became the youngest player ever to be ranked number one in the world. He has won the French Open, held at the same venue as the Paris Paralympics, for two consecutive years, last year and this year, and is considered a strong contender for the gold medal at this year’s tournament.
In this tournament, he advanced to the finals by defeating world No. 26 B. Bertram (Great Britain) in the second round of his first match, world No. 19 D. Rodrigues (Brazil) in the third round, No. 6 seed T. Efbelink (Netherlands) in the quarterfinals, and No. 4 seed G. Fernandez (Argentina) in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, 26-year-old Hewett, ranked number one in the world, advanced by defeating third seed M. de la Puente (Spain) in the semi-finals.
All eyes will be on the final of this tournament, a showdown between the world’s number one and number two ranked players.
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