Shingo Kunieda edged past Alfie Hewett to claim his seventh US Open title - but first in five years – in the final of the men’s wheelchair tournament on Sunday.

The 36-year-old defeated the Briton 6-3 3-6 7-6(3) to deny Hewett a third consecutive US Open crown and triumph in New York for the first time since 2015.

In so doing, he claimed his 24th wheelchair singles title and his 45th Grand Slam title overall, surpassing Esther Vergeer's record of 44 Grand Slam wheelchair singles and doubles titles.

"I don’t mind about the record," said Kunieda, modestly. "Esther is brilliant, so just because I win 45, it is not because I am a better player. Esther has a lot of unbeaten records, which are a lot more tough [to achieve], I think!

"The next one is Roland Garros, so… I’ll try to win 46!"

Kunieda, who equalled Verger's tally at January's Australian Open, had won three Grand Slams prior to his last triumph at the US Open five years ago, and, despite being world No. 1, came into this final as perhaps something of an underdog, given that Hewett was gunning for a three-peat in New York.

Kunieda overcame Hewett in the semi-finals on the way to winning at Melbourne Park in January and was able to both draw on that memory, and banish any thoughts of his loss to the Brit at the quarter-final stage in New York last year, to improve his overall win-loss record over the 22-year-old to 11-8.

"He’s a very good player," Kunieda said. "It was a very tough match. He had a lot of chances to win this time, but I took control mentally from the beginning to the end. This was the key to the match I think."