Israelis finish 2nd with loss to Brits
Israel’s national quad wheelchair tennis team ended the World Team Cup in second place on Sunday, losing 2-1 to Great Britain in the final in Alghero, Sardinia.
Israel, which was hoping to win the title for a fifth time and a first since 2012, took the lead when Noam Gershony defeated James Shaw 6-1, 6-2. Andy Lapthorne leveled the tie with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Shraga Weinberg and the title came down to a decisive doubles match.
Gershony hadn’t lost a singles or doubles match all week, but he and Weinberg were outplayed by Antony Cotterill and Lapthorne, losing 6-3, 6-0.
Gershony, the 2012 Paralympics singles gold medalist who retired after his triumph in London but continues to train and represent Israel in the annual World Team Cup, finished the event with a 5-0 record in singles, winning all his matches in straight sets and losing a mere total of 16 games.
A total of 40 teams representing 29 countries took part in the different events at the World Team Cup, with the world’s top eight national teams participating in the quad competition.
“We had an excellent championship and the players gave their all and played as a team,” said national team coach Martin Gilbert.
“Shraga played well in the doubles and of course Noam was excellent, winning all his singles matches. We didn’t get to hear Hatikvah after the final, but it was played beforehand and this was a magical championship.”