As Alphaville’s ‘Big in Japan’ rang out over centre court after the men’s singles final at the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters it was for a special reason and Tokito Oda had just demonstrated that he is a special talent.

At the age of 16 Japan’s world No. 1 junior player had just beaten the world No. 1 men’s player Alfie Hewett for the first time and, in doing so, he eclipsed Hewett’s record as the youngest men’s singles champion at the year-end championships on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour. To add even more significance to Oda’s achievement it was the crowning glory in his remarkable debut in the event.

“It's too emotional for me - I can't believe it. I’m really happy to be the youngest winner and also it was the last match of the year and I won it, so I’m so happy to win,” said Oda, whose beaming smile spoke a thousand words for a teenager of relatively few words.

“It was very exciting to play in front of that crowd and with all the smoke coming down and the lights; I really enjoyed it.”

Currently world No. 5 on the men’s singles rankings, Oda lost 6-2 7-5 to Hewett on the second day of men’s singles action in Oss, the Netherlands. But with Hewett having recognised the same fearlessness in Oda that was often spoken about himself when the Briton won the Masters at the age of 19 in 2017, Oda used motivation from that match to reverse the result in style.  

“It was such a good match for me last time against Alfie (in the round-robin group), but I watched that match again and I thought a lot about the best way to win,” said Oda, who went up a double break at 4-1 before withstanding a comeback from defending champion Hewett and wrapping up the opening set with one of many impressive cross court backhands.

“Alfie was playing so good today, so it was tough to win points, but I’m just so happy right now. I need the rest and I’m going to enjoy the holiday, ” said Oda after wrapping up victory with three games in a row to become the second Japanese player after Shingo Kunieda to win the men’s title.

Schroder's remarkable journey to first Masters quad title

Five years ago Sam Schroder had earned his right to make his Singles Masters debut, but on the same day that he booked his flight to Great Britain in preparation for the 2017 event Schroder was diagnosed with colon cancer.

After time away from competition for treatment, Schroder made his belated Masters debut in Orlando in 2019, where he lost out to fellow Dutchman Niels Vink in the quad semi-finals. With the 2020 Masters cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, last year Schroder lost out to Vink again, this time after winning the first set of the final.

However, if you’re going to win your first Masters title, then there’s no better place to do it than on home soil.

“It's very special, it’s been a long journey and there have been so many milestones this year already, winning a couple of Grand Slams in singles and doubles and to finish off the year like this, it’s great,” said Schroder after defeating Vink 6-3 6-0.

“It's just a lot of motivation to keep going when you know that what you're doing in practice and all the work and energy, time and money you're putting into this is paying off with this win today.

“It's very special to see a lot of friends and family from both sides supporting each other and it's great to win today because there are so many people watching,” added the world No. 2 after halving the points gap that Vink had opened up at the top of the world rankings.

“A lot of people that I know never really have a chance to watch me (in person), so that's just extra motivation to play as best as I can. Today I think it was probably the best match I've ever played, to be honest, alongside the Australian Open final this year, so I’m very happy.”

Princess Margriet compliments De Groot on fifth title

The first Singles and Doubles Masters to be held simultaneously on Dutch soil in 20 years enjoyed royal support on the final day of competition in Oss as Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands joined the enthusiastic fans assembled to cheer their local heroes to victory.

With a Dutch champion assured in the opening quad singles final, world No.1 Diede de Groot then arrived on court hoping to win her fifth successive women’s singles Masters title. However, for a short time, Yui Kamiji threatened to upset the party as she raced into a 2-0 lead.

Apparently unperturbed, De Groot went on to win 12 of the next 14 games, but 2013 champion Kamiji far from made it easy for the top seed.

On more than once occasion she broke De Groot’s serve to love, but was often out-manoeuvred at the end of a succession of fascinating rallies as De Groot wrapped up their fifth successive Masters final 6-2 6-2.

“I've met her once before, after the Rio Paralympics, and now having her watch the whole match, it’s great,” said De Groot, who received one of her two trophies from Princess Margriet. “She could see the power that went into it and she gave me many compliments, which was so special to receive from Her Royal Highness.

“It’s very special to be in Holland and after a year like this, to finish it in your home country, in front of all your family and friends is very special,” added De Groot.

“In the beginning I was a little bit nervous, so to get into it I had to really relax and just play the way that I know can. After a few games I managed to get into the rhythm and find my game and I managed to keep that throughout the whole match. I'm just very happy that I managed to do it at home, as well, because I can do it anywhere, but at home it’s always different. So I'm just happy that my family could see it.

After ending an unbeaten season in singles competition having extended her winning sequence to 74 matches, De Groot added:

“I'm actually going on holiday tomorrow, so I need to get into the mood a little bit after this, but I'm going to pack my bags this evening and I'm very happy to celebrate this win on the beach, for once. It never happens like this, because I’ve always had to continue to play an extra tournament but, now, I can actually celebrate it with the holiday. So, I'm very excited and then it’s on to (preparing for) next year.”