Paralympic champ nets title double at inaugural Uni event
REIGNING Paralympic champion Gordon Reid claimed his first men’s singles title of 2021 after beating fellow Brit and top seed Alfie Hewett 2-6, 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday to lift the inaugural Loughborough Indoor Wheelchair Tennis Tournament crown.
Hewett and Reid later joined forces to claim their third successive men’s doubles title of the season as the first LTA international competition staged in Britain in 12 months drew to a close with Dutch top seed Aniek van Koot taking the women’s singles title and partnering countrywoman Jiske Griffioen to win the women’s doubles.
World No.5 Reid recovered from a set and 5-3 down to beat world No.3 Hewett and reverse the result of their previous title decider at Loughborough University Tennis Centre in 2017, when Hewett won the year-end Singles Masters.
“I think last year was the first year in my career that I didn’t win a singles title. Obviously, we didn’t play many events, so I’m really pleased to take the title home today,” said Reid. “I’ve played some really good tennis this week and I thought the final was a really high level. I had to play some of my tennis to beat Alfie and had to try to get on the front foot early in the points.”
Ten-time Grand Slam champions Hewett and Reid made it a hat-trick of men’s doubles titles for 2021 after racing past Dutch second seeds Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren 6-0, 6-1.
“We’re stronger than ever on the doubles court at the moment and really dynamic and adaptable. I think that’s one of our biggest strengths.” said Hewett. “To lose to Gordon in the singles final was disappointing. I feel like I’ve been playing some of my best singles tennis recently and the level of the match was incredible from both of us.”
World No.3 and 2019 Wimbledon champion Van Koot powered to victory in the women’s singles final, beating American third seed Dana Mathewson 6-3, 6-2.
Meanwhile, the women’s doubles final brought together the Rio 2016 gold and bronze medallists, with reigning Paralympic champions Griffioen and Van Koot battling back to win a thrilling contest against Brits Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley 4-6, 6-4, (10-3) after a deciding match tie-break.
Earlier in the week American top seed Bryan Barten beat Brit Antony Cotterill 4-6, 6-0 ,7-5 to win the quad singles title and also partnered Israel’s Yosi Saadon to win the quad doubles.
Loughborough-based trio James Shaw, Abbie Breakwell and Dahnon Ward all acquitted themselves admirably at last week’s ITF 2 tournament.
After beating fellow Brit Richard Green, Shaw produced a personal best against Bryan Barten in the quad singles semi-finals, taking a set off the eventual champion for the first time before bowing out 2-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Loughborough College student Breakwell was handed a tough first round assignment against world No.10 Dana Mathewson. While the American went on to reach the women’s final, Breakwell’s last tournament as a 17-year-old saw her reach the consolation semi-finals before losing out 6-2, 6-3 to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Morch, who is ranked some 60 places higher than the Briton.
Meanwhile, after an early loss in the men’s singles, 15-year-old Ward partnered fellow junior Ben Bartram to reach the second round of the men’s doubles, where they encountered Hewett and Reid.
“The tournament was invaluable for getting them all back on the match court after months of training,” said Martyn Whait, National Coach on the LTA’s Wheelchair Performance Pathway, summarising the week for the three players he works with in Loughborough.
“To have that opportunity to test themselves ahead of setting the next lot of goals has been exactly that they needed. James played very well to get to the quad singles semis and performed really well against the top seed. He just didn’t quite have the match experience to get him through, but there are a lot of positives for the future.
“For Abbie and Dahnon, playing an ITF 2 tournament against senior players was a good step up for them and helps us to look at the next training block with a real focus,” added Whait, who has also worked closely with Hewett and Reid in recent seasons to help establish their highly successful doubles partnership.