By Glenys Furness
- Andy Lapthorne Claimed 15th Grand Slam title
- Hewett & Reid claimed 9th consecutive Grand Slam title
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Andy Lapthorne took his Grand Slam titles to 15, whilst Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid brought their consecutive Grand Slam titles to nine.
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Andy Lapthorne entered the Australian Open Wheelchair Quads event. With his regular doubles partner David Wagner, the pair were second seeds. Their first match was in the semi-final. The Brit/American were against Donald Ramphadi & Koji Sugeno.
The South African/Japanese found the second seeds difficult to play in the first set. The Brit/American secured a break of serve to take the lead. In the second set however, Ramphadi & Sugeno started to work out the game of Lapthorne & Wagner. The South African/Japanese managed to break serve and level up the match. The semi-final would be decided with a match tiebreak.
In the match tiebreak both teams stayed close with neither wanting to give in. Eventually though, the Brit/American pair got the break and moved ahead. Lapthorne & Wagner stayed ahead and booked their spot int the final 6-3, 4-6, 10-6.
The final saw Lapthorne & Wagner against the top seeds Sam Schroder & Niels Vink. The Dutch pair dominated the first set and took the lead. The Brit/American re-grouped in the second set. Fighting back to break the serve of Schroder & Vink, Lapthorne & Wagner levelled the match. In the match tiebreak the pairs stayed toe to toe until finally Lapthorne & Wagner broke through and secured the break needed to take the title 2-6, 6-4, 10-7.
In the singles Lapthorne was against Ramphadi in the first round. The first set was very tight with the South African staying with the Brit. Just as the set looked to be heading to a tiebreak Lapthorne secured the break to take the lead. The second set was much easier for the Brit. Lapthorne broke early and took the match in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. This gave Lapthorne his 15th Grand Slam title.
The semi-final saw Lapthorne against the top seed and home favourite Dylan Alcott. The Aussie, who was playing in his last Australian Open, dominated both sets. Lapthorne tried to get into the match, but Alcott proved too powerful. Lapthorne’s singles campaign ended 3-6, 0-6.
Men’s Doubles
Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid were the top seeds going into the Australian Open. In the semi-final the Brits were against Tom Egberink & Ben Weekes. The first set was very close. The Dutch/Aussie stayed with the seeds until right near the end. Hewett & Reid secured the break to take the lead. The second set however, was dominated by the Brits. Breaking almost at will Hewett & Reid stormed through the set to book a spot in the final 7-5, 6-2.
In the final the Brits were against Gustavo Fernandez & Shingo Kuneida. Hewett & Reid dominated the first set and took the lead. The second set saw the Argentine/Japanese mount a fight back. Fernandez & Kuneida broke the Brits serve and levelled up the match. In the match tie break both teams battled to get ahead. Hewett & Reid finally managed to get ahead and claimed the title 6-2, 4-6, 10-7. The Brits claimed their third successive Australian Open doubles title, and ninth Grand Slam title.
In the singles Reid was draw against Stephane Houdet. The Frenchman secured a break of serve in the first set and took the lead. Reid was unable to get back into the match. Houdet dominated the second set and knocked the Brit out 6-4, 6-1.
Hewett drew Fernandez and dominated the first set. The Brit was on fire and the Argentine struggled to hold serve. Hewett the second seed took the lead. Fernandez regrouped in the second set and fought back. Howevever the Argentine was unable to break serve and the set went to a tiebreak. The Brit dominated the breaker and moved into the semi-final 6-1, 7-6(2).
The semi-final saw the Brit against Houdet. The second seed dominated the match from the start. The Frenchman was unable to get into the match. Hewett eased through the semi-final in straight sets, booking a spot in the final 6-1, 6-1.
In the final Hewett was against the top seed Kuneida. The first set was very tight and looked to be heading to a tiebreak. The Japanese player managed to break the Brit serve right at the end of the set and take the lead. The second set saw Hewett break the serve of Kuneida and level the match. The final set was dominated by the top seed. Hewett tried to get back into the match but the top seed took the title 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.
Womens event
Lucy Shuker entered the doubles with Yui Kamiji and they were the second seeds. In the semi-final the Brit/Japanese were against Jiske Griffioen & Zhu Zhenzhen. The seeds dominated the first set as the Dutch/Chinese pair were unable to stay with the pace. In the second set Griffioen & Zhenzhen played better, but the second seeds still broke and booked a spot in the final 6-2, 6-3.
The final saw the Brit/Japanese against the top seeds Diede De Groot & Aniek Van Koot. The Brit/Japanese stayed toe to toe in the first set with the top seeds. De Groot & Van Koot eventually managed to break serve right at the end of the set to take the lead. Shuker & Kamiji fought back in the second set, breaking the serve of the top seeds to level the match. Unfortunately, in the match tiebreak the top seeds dominated and lifted the trophy 7-5, 3-6, 10-2.
In the singles Shuker was drawn against Zhenzhen. The Brit dominated the whole match from start to finish. The Chinese was unable to get into the match despite throwing everything at Shuker. The Brit matched into the semi-final in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.
The semi-final saw the Brit against the top seed De Groot. The Dutch player dominated the first set as Shuker struggled and was unable to hold serve. However, the second set was much closer as Shuker mounted a fight back. Ultimately, it was the Dutch player who managed to sneak the break of serve and move into the final 6-0, 7-5.
Next Week Brits play in Tarbes, France.
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