The 26-year-old joked afterwards that he personally knew at least 1,000 of the 5,000 fans in the Rod Laver Arena in what marked the first ever holding of a wheelchair final on a Grand Slam centre court.

He duly rose to the occasion by demolishing Lapthrone 6-2, 6-2. 

“It feels amazing to have the three-peat, which is what I wanted,” Alcott, who has won one Paralympic gold medal in wheelchair basketball as well as two in tennis, said afterwards. 

“But to play that on Rod Laver Arena - I’ve been a pretty strong campaigner for Paralympic sport, not for the reason of equality because I don’t care about that, but because I know the public knows it’s entertaining.

“I studied economics and supply-and-demand, and I kept saying to Tennis Australia, if you put me on Court 7 or 8 you’re going to be about 4,000 seats short. 

"A lot of people are going to come watch and every corner of that stadium was full.”

Second seed beat first in the women's wheelchair singles final as Japan's Yui Kamiji came from a set behind to defeat The Netherlands' Jiske Griffioen.

In a titanic dual lasting two hours and 18 minutes, Kamiji prevailed 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3.

It marked her first win at the Australian Open after final defeats in 2014 and 2015.

“I’m just really happy,” she said. 

“But even after when I come back to the chair, I’m thinking about the next match, how to be better.”

Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina secured a second Grand Slam title but a first Australian Open singles victory in the men's wheelchair event.

He recovered from a set down to beat Frenchman Nicolas Peifer 3-6, 6-2, 6-0 in an all-unseeded final.

“I think the key today was I fight a lot," he said. 

"I was too tight in the beginning and he was a little more taking the shot. 

"Then I start fighting, but he took the first set - the key was I fight through that moment.”