Olsson revels in return for ‘most exciting’ Paralympics

Stefan Olsson had no intention of playing at Tokyo 2020 – in 2020, at least.

The 34-year-old Swede, a two-time Wimbledon men’s wheelchair singles champion, had decided to hang up his racket once news broke that the Games were being pushed back a year.

But the allure of one last Paralympic campaign proved too tempting, and he was soon back out on court working to rediscover his form and fitness for one last shot at a singles medal to join his doubles gold from London 2012 and the silver won at Beijing 2008.

Then came the call that he would be Sweden’s flagbearer in the Opening Ceremony.

“Imagine if I had missed that!” he said with a laugh. “I’m super-stoked and super-happy to be here. I’m happy that my hip is good enough so I can actually play, and all the help I have gotten with the hip so I can actually be here. I’m a little bit emotional, and really happy to do one last Paralympics. And to be the flagbearer was just the icing on the cake.

“I thought they had already selected one – there are some good persons in the Sweden team that I thought would have deserved it, but then they called me and I got really emotional.”

Olsson, the No. 10 seed, opened with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Brazil’s Daniel Rodrigues, one of the Centre Court matches that avoided delays due to the extreme heat at Ariake Tennis Park with the roof closed.

“I can play better,” he said bluntly. “I was a little bit tense today, I wish I was a little bit more relaxed. But it’s always like that in the first match, and if you see it that way, the way I played, I’m quite happy. I made a lot of balls and had some clean hitting – I just need to be a bit more relaxed I think.”

With work still to be done to find his true top form, Olsson rates his medal chances as “really small” – through he’s ruling nothing out in a men’s singles draw that is as open as any he can remember at a Paralympic Games.

“It’s never been like this, I think,” he said of the depth of talent in the men’s singles field, with any three of a dozen or more players harbouring expectations of reaching the podium.

“We started seeing it a little bit in Rio that the draw was a little bit more open. But I think this is the most open Paralympics we’ve had since 2008, when Shingo [Kunieda] started playing outstanding tennis. This Paralympics is probably the most exciting, and the most interesting to see who can get the medals.”

As the only Swede at Ariake Tennis Park, Olsson’s sole focus is the singles at Tokyo 2020. Up next is Japan’s Daisuke Arai, with the winner facing a potential showdown with No. 8 seed Tom Egberink.

“I know the chance of getting a medal is really small for me, because I’m not at that level yet again,” Olsson admits. “But I’ve got a lot of experience, and you never know at the Paralympics. I’m just going to keep trying to play my best tennis here and embrace the experience as much as possible. You never know – all of a sudden if I’m there in the third round, then going to the quarters…

“It’s especially tough when you know it’s only every four years, so you have to try to be that extra bit mentally tough in every situation,” he added. “I’ll see how long I can go.”