Joachim Gerard always believed he was capable of winning the major prizes in wheelchair tennis. Now he knows it.

The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion arrives with his mindset galvanised by the first two Grand Slam singles triumphs of his career at the age of 32, victories a long time coming in the eyes of the Belgian.

And now, at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, No. 3 seed Gerard believes he has the blueprint for success.

“I’m completely different in my head, in my game, everything,” he said after opening his Paralympic campaign with a 6-1 6-1 victory over USA’s Casey Ratzlaff.

“I feel stronger, because now I know I can. Even if I knew I could do it, I never did it. To go such a long time without a Grand Slam was really tough, but I did it and I know that I can do big things. I think that’s why I can play freely, and maybe play my best game.”

Like Gerard, all the seeds in action on Day 2 at Ariake Tennis Park posted victories – many of them in fine style. Along with early wins for top seed Shingo Kunieda, Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett in the men’s singles draw, there was similar quickfire success for the leading lights in the women’s singles, with top seed Diede De Groot looking fired up in her 6-1 6-0 victory over Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana.

“I’m very happy that the tournament has started,” De Groot said. “I think that made me more eager and more fired up. I’m just really happy to play here and happy that the tournament has started for us.

“Obviously, I have a very big goal: I definitely want to win that gold medal, but I don’t need to look that far ahead like that. I’m just going round-for-round; I know the next one is going to be a tough one, so I need to focus on that.”

Yui Kamiji, Japan’s No. 2 seed, opened the day’s action under the roof on Centre Court with a quickfire 6-0 6-1 win over Argentina’s Maria Florencia Moreno, while Netherlands’ Aniek Van Koot eased past long-time German rival Katharina Kruger 6-3 6-1 – 18 years after their first tour meeting.

Jordanne Whiley booked her spot in the second round with a 6-0 6-3 victory against Angelica Bernal, and there was a bittersweet victory for USA’s Dana Mathewson, beating close friend Charlotte Fairbank of France by the same scoreline.

“It feels great to have a first win under my belt,” said the No. 8 seed. “We’ve been prepping for Tokyo for five years now, and there’s a lot of build-up goes into it. Playing against one of my good friends adds an extra element of nerves – when it’s your friend, you think about it a little differently. I didn’t play as well as I want to play as the tournament progresses, but I think I played well today.”

Defending quad singles and doubles champion Dylan Alcott was another straight sets victor, downing Japan’s Mitsuteru Moroishi 6-0 6-2 on Centre Court, with the roof open in the cooler evening conditions.

“It’s beautiful,” the Australian said of the arena. “I just want to thank the Japanese people, everything they’ve done, but if that was 10,000-full it would be unbelievable. It’s such a beautiful court.”

Alcott believes he is not only a better player but a better person now than he was in 2016, when he took home both quad golds after winning the doubles title with Heath Davidson.

“I’ve changed up my game a bit, I’ve gotten much stronger, worked really hard – probably the mental side of the game I’ve worked on as well. I’ve had a couple of big losses, like when I was going for the Grand Slam in 2019. I learned a lot, and really changed the way I think about it.

“I used to have expectations of myself to win. Now I have a goal to win, but you can’t have expectations. You can’t control how the other player plays, or everything that happens. The only expectation of myself I can have is to be the best version I can be: as an athlete, a sportsman, my general vibe, everything.”

Alcott will face either USA’s Bryan Barten or Kim Kyu-Seung of Korea, Rep. in the second round, the only match not completed of the 39 on Saturday’s schedule, which once again fell victim to sweltering conditions in Tokyo. Play on Courts 1-9, already slated for a delayed 15:00 start, did not begin until 17:30.

Elsewhere in the quad singles draw, Dutch No. 2 seed Sam Schroder eased to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Israel’s Yosi Saadon, while Andy Lapthorne, the No. 3 seed, saw off Canada’s Robert Shaw 6-3 6-3. David Wagner, the three-time Paralympic champion bidding for a record ninth wheelchair tennis Paralympic medal in Tokyo, fought back from a set down to beat Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva 3-6 6-2 6-2.