Wheelchair elite set for the NEC Masters at Uni
RIO PARALYMPIC medallists Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett, Andy Lapthorne and Lucy Shuker head a home contingent of five players contesting this week’s NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, which begins today (Wednesday) at Loughborough Sport Tennis Centre, as they bid for British success at the International Tennis Federation’s year-end championship for the world’s best wheelchair singles players.
The Brits are among eight of the world’s leading men’s and women’s players and six of the world’s leading quad players vying for one of the most coveted titles of the year over five days of intense competition on the Loughborough University Campus.
Grand Slam and Paralympic champions are plentiful among the 22 entries, including Lapthorne and the USA’s David Wagner. Both players are in contention for the year-end world No.1 quad singles ranking, which provides added spice to this week’s event.
Competition begins today with the first of three days of round-robin pool matches. The top two players in each of the two round-robin pools in each singles event go through to Saturday’s semi-finals. All three finals are on Sunday.
With world No.1 Wagner having won the quad singles title 12 months ago, when Lapthorne finished third, a change in fortunes this year could see current world No.2 Lapthorne overtake the American, which provides added excitement to the year-end finale.
“This has been a pretty good year for me, probably one of the best of my career other than winning a singles Grand Slam. My eyes all year have been on that year-end world No. 1 ranking, so my aim is win the Masters and see where that takes me,” said Rio silver medallist Lapthorne.
Roland Garros champion Hewett is one of four players to have shared the four men’s singles grand slam titles this year and the 19-year-old British No.1 and British No. 2 Reid will both have designs on going one better than Reid last year, when he was runner-up in the men’s singles.
Japan’s Yui Kamiji and Netherlands Diede de Groot have won the four women’s singles grand slam titles between them his year, while world No. 7 Shuker will be aiming to upset the odds in her seventh NEC Masters.