Midnight in Paris: wide-eyed Berdichevsky savours maiden Paras victory
Israel’s Adam Berdichevsky only slept for an hour last night. He was that excited about this opening showdown of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event against Italy’s Luca Arca that his mind was racing.
A lack of shuteye did his on-court chances no harm at all, however, as Berdichevsky prevailed 6-2 7-5 to record his maiden men’s singles victory at the Paralympics after debuting at Tokyo 2020. He will now face Chile’s Alexander Cataldo in round two.
Berdichevsky’s presence here comes against the backdrop of a turbulent personal year which saw him and his family caught up in bombing raids near their home on 7 October 2023.
They were forced to hide for 14 hours in their Nir Yitzhak home near the Gaza Strip during the Hamas-led attacks. They were eventually rescued and evacuated to Eilat.
In the context of those difficult times, it has been an uplifting few days for Berdichevsky after performing the role of his nation’s flagbearer at Wednesday’s Paralympic opening ceremony at Place de la Concorde.
“First Paralympics singles win and being Israel’s flagbearer, both were really special,” said the 40-year-old. “The flag bearing was amazing, to walk with the whole Israel team was amazing – and everyone saw me on TV.
“I cannot say how much fun it was to represent my country like this. The win, it was the first time I played in front of a crowd like this, and it felt like I played at home – it was very special. I was very happy I could give some good times to people amid all the bad days."
Berdichevsky, who took up wheelchair tennis after losing his leg during a boating accident in 2007, is yet to contest a Grand Slam, so victory on Court Suzanne Lenglen is the thing of dreams – assuming he can sleep soundly tonight.