Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Lapthorne’s number one in the world
RUISLIP’S Andy Lapthorne was a magnificent runner-up in the Australian Open quad singles final for the third time since 2013.
One of four players on the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme to have reached or contested five title deciders from six events at Melbourne Park, the 29-year-old became world No 1 in singles for the first time in his career last Monday.
While the reigning US Open champion’s hopes of back-to-back Grand Slam singles titles ended in a 6-0, 6-4 loss to Australian Dylan Alcott, Lapthorne chose focus on “the bigger picture”.
Speaking at the Rod Laver Arena, the Australian Open’s centre court, he said: “I’ve been coming here for years and cheering on Andy Murray and hearing ‘Come on Andy’ on this court so many times. For that Andy to be me today is, honestly, you have no idea. I might have lost but that will stay with me forever.
“If there’s one disabled person at home that’s watching this and wondering whether they should go for their dreams, we are proof down here that you should. I was up there [in the stands] the other night watching Nick Kyrgios and cheering on Nick and now I’m sitting on the court in front of this amazing crowd, so if there’s anyone out there, just go for it.”
Lapthorne took Alcott to deuce in five of the six games in the opening set of the quad singles final, but having beaten the Australian 6-1, 6-0 in last September’s US Open, he ensured that he got more than one game on the board himself in Alcott’s home city. A succession of winners saw Lapthorne take 3-2 and 4-3 second set leads, only for Alcott to come back for his sixth Australian Open title. Lapthorne added: “It’s always disappointing to lose, especially in a Slam final, but equally when you get to play on such a big court, on such a big occasion, you also have to be happy about the fact you got yourself into the position to be able to be part of a moment like that.”