Joachim Gerard’s shoulders ache. Right now, the world No.4 should be chasing his fifth NEC Wheelchair Masters title, with the world’s top players across the net and the Orlando sun on his back. Instead he finds himself at home in Belgium, midway through a gruelling pre-season regimen launched shortly after news broke that the 2020 editions of the Wheelchair Masters events had been postponed until next year.

“We decided to make a training block of six weeks – we are now in the fourth – and it’s been hard on my body,” said the 32-year-old, still smarting from an 80km hand-bike session days earlier. “Last week my shoulders were very painful, but after two days of rest I'm getting better and I'm looking forward for the week that’s coming.”

The NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters have provided Gerard with some of the highest highs of his career to date. Having reached the final in his debut appearance back in 2013, he has won four of the last five titles, as well as winning the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters crown with Stephane Houdet back in 2014.

There are other accolades in his collection – the world No.1 ranking he first held in 2016, the year he reached his first Grand Slam singles final at the Australian Open and won Paralympic bronze in Rio, as well as his four Grand Slam doubles titles. He was named Belgium’s Paralympian of the Year for a second time in 2019 in recognition of his Masters title defence and doubles victories at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

'After the match my coach said, "Do you know that you didn't make any mistakes from 0-3 to 6-3?" It's impossible! That’s one of the biggest memories of my career'

But while he remains driven by his pursuit of Belgium’s first wheelchair tennis Grand Slam singles title and a Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo, his legacy is already secure thanks to a quartet of hard-earned victories at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour’s prestigious season finale.

“I don't know what I have with this competition, but it's been very good for me,” Gerard said. “Many, many players, people in Belgium, and in the media ask me why, because I always play good tournaments at the Masters and never do something in the Grand Slams before this year – they’re always saying, ‘You are the master!’ To win four times in five years, it's amazing.”

Perhaps the format plays its part. While most of the year is spent playing straight-forward knockout tournaments, the Wheelchair Masters events operate with a round-robin phase before the semi-finals, guaranteeing players at least three matches, or two in the quad division. It also presents the prospect of facing the same player twice in the same event – something Gerard knows only too well.

“I think I did something that nobody had done before, beating the world No.1 twice in the same competition,” he said when asked for his standout Masters memory – the twin victories over Shingo Kunieda en route to his first title in 2015.

“For me, it was an amazing achievement. In the first match, in the round robin stage, I broke his undefeated series of 77 matches. Then in the final I produced an amazing third set. I was losing 0-3, but from there I didn't lose another game – and I didn't make another error. After the match my coach said, ‘Do you know that you didn't make any mistakes from 0-3 to 6-3?’ It's impossible!

“That’s one of the biggest memories of my career. I’ve won a bronze medal in Rio and done many other things, but this one stands out because of the way I played. The way I managed to win this tournament was amazing.”

Victory in the 2015 final denied Kunieda a fourth Masters Singles title and the chance to close the gap on Robin Ammerlaan’s record of six. Instead, it is now Gerard who has moved within striking distance of the Dutchman’s mark – and he is putting in the work to give himself the best shot at making that, and the realisation of his other goals, happen.

'I have rituals which help me to stay focused in the match. There is work to be done every day, on the court and outside the courts, to be always mentally fit'

There are three pillars to the preparation of an elite tennis player: the on-court work, physical training, and mentality. Gerard takes all three equally seriously and placed particular onus on improving his mental fortitude during the 2020 lockdown, working with his sophrologist to achieve an athlete-centric state of mindfulness.

Practised by the likes of tennis legend Yannick Noah and golfer Sergio Garcia, sophrology is a form of dynamic meditation designed to focus the mind on the present. Unlike other meditative practices, it engages both the mind and body in order to achieve a state of simultaneous alertness and relaxation which helps to alleviate stress, maintain calm, and to stay sharp, more focused and resilient.

“It’s not a medium, or someone who puts you to sleep – what we do is try to help me make it by myself, and it works,” Gerard explains. “I also talk a lot with my staff to see what's good for me, what I have to do. I have rituals which help me to stay focused in the match and not let my mind wander. There is work to be done every day, on the court and outside the courts, to be always mentally fit.”

The lockdown work played its part in Gerard’s run to a second Grand Slam final at Roland Garros in September, where he beat Kunieda once more to reach the final. Having led by a set and a break, however, he fell to a stirring fightback from Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett that at the time left him crestfallen. Watching the match back as part of his match analysis has helped.

“I don't like to do it even if I win,” Gerard admits. “For sure, we still see the good stuff, but every time I focus on the bad points and at the end I say, ‘Okay, I have many things to work on’. I think there were a lot of positive things to take from my experience in Paris, but there were bad things to see too.

“I felt I’d played really bad in the final, but when I saw the match on TV I said, ‘Okay, yeah, it wasn't so bad.’ For sure I missed a few opportunities, and that's what made the difference that day. But I played a good match and I was really happy that I could show that to the Belgian people. The match was live on TV in Belgium, and it helped me to say, ‘Okay let's go, let's continue to work, and maybe next time it's yours.’”

'I think there were a lot of positive things to take from my experience in Paris, but there were bad things to see too'

Gerard describes the early decision to postpone the Paralympics until 2021 “a relief,” as it assuaged fears that the players’ first competitive action in months might come at such a major event.

“With the Paralympics, I think it was better to say okay, we’ll put the competition later and we will see you next year,” he explains. “That way, everyone could practice and be better prepared. Some players had not qualified yet and they were expecting to play a few tournaments in the months before the deadline. So, yeah, it was a more a relief for them, for everyone.”

As Belgium’s sole wheelchair tennis representative at the Grand Slams in recent years, Gerard takes great pride in his role as a national ambassador for the sport, and para-sport at large – and with the emergence of 19-year-old Jef Vandorpe, the world No.15, he may soon have some regular company at the majors.

“I'm one of the most well-known Paralympic athletes in Belgium, and it helps our Paralympic sports,” he said. “That's what I'm really proud of here in Belgium, that I can improve sports – not only wheelchair tennis but other Paralympic sports – through the media, through my personality. If I can help, it's the best thing after wheelchair tennis.

“It's amazing how many years I’m here at the top alone, because there are not so many players in Belgium. Now Jef is coming, but I hope to stay a few more years.”