Alcott, Fernandez and Kamiji net 2017 Australian Open titles

There could possibly not be a better marketing specialist in the game than Dylan Alcott. And let it be said he's also one incredible professional tennis player, too.

The Melbourne native, who appears to have cornered the talent of persuasion, won the Australian Open quad singles title for a third consecutive year with a 6-2 6-2 win over Andy Lapthorne of Great Britain.

And he defended the title in a first-ever holding of a wheelchair final on a Grand Slam centre court and with national TV coverage. He estimated about 5,000 were in attendance, of which he said he knows around 1,000 of those watching.

"It feels amazing to have the three-peat, which is what I wanted," he said. "But to play that on Rod Laver Arena - I've been a pretty strong campaigner for Paralympic sport, not for the reason of equality because I don't care about that, but because I know the public knows it's entertaining.

"I studied economics and supply-and-demand, and I kept saying to Tennis Australia, if you put me on Court 7 or 8 you're going to be about 4,000 seats short. A lot of people are going to come watch and every corner of that stadium was full.

As for the celebration of being able to win a Grand Slam title in his hometown apparently the 1,000 he considers close and personal friends that came to the match were expecting something in return.

"I'm going to have about 1,000 beers and I literally know about 1,000 people who were there because I have the best support system," he said. "They're all waiting for me to go buy them beers."

Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina can now call himself a two-time Grand Slam champion, and he's won both of his wheelchair men's singles titles within the last year.

In an all-unseeded final, Fernandez pulled in his first Australian Open singles victory with a 3-6 6-2 6-0 win over Nicolas Peifer of France on Saturday afternoon.

"I'm very happy about it," Fernandez said. "It was a long way to get here. I think on the clay I felt a little better to play because that's my kind of surface. Here it is so fast, it's tough, it's tough. I'm very happy I managed it and I played good tennis during the week.

"I think the key today was I fight a lot. I was too tight in the beginning and he was a little more taking the shot. Then I start fighting, but he took the first set. The key was I fight through that moment."

Fernandez, who grew up playing on South American clay courts, won his first Grand Slam singles trophy at Roland Garros last June, defeating Gordon Reid 7-6(4) 6-1.

He played in his first Grand Slam final here at Melbourne Park in 2014. Surprisingly, the courts are playing different, which might not seem to be ideal for Fernandez, but he's the one taking home the trophy.

"The courts had been slower the past two years, but then they made the courts faster this year," Fernandez said. "It's good for me that I can prove to myself I can be there (on fast courts), beating the top players.

Fernandez, who received money from the Argentine government to make the trip, has a temporary plan to toast his win here in Melbourne, but the real celebration will take place in a few days' time.

"I want to eat a big steak and then go home and enjoy with my family and the people who support me," he said. "I leave tomorrow night."

The women's wheelchair champion for 2017 is second-seeded Yui Kamiji of Japan, who captured a hard fought, come-from-behind 6-7(2) 6-3 6-3 win over top-seeded Jiske Griffioen of Netherlands that took two hours, 18 minutes to secure.

Kamiji reached the Australian Open singles final in 2014 and 2015, but this marks the first time she's won the title. In 2014, she won the Roland Garros and US Open singles trophies.

"I'm just really happy," Kamiji said. "But even after when I come back to the chair, I'm thinking about the next match, how to be better."

Kamiji posted 42 winners to 21 unforced errors in the encounter, while Griffioen had 51 winners, but a high 41 unforced errors.

"She's really tough," Kamiji said. "First set really close and she was very good. Second set I was a little bit better. Then final set I was a little bit nervous, but she was also and she had more mistakes than me.

"I was a little bit lucky."