By Tony Fairbairn at Wimbledon
- Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram reached the semi-finals only to lose in five sets to Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell.
- Alfie Hewett defeated doubles partner Gordon Reid in a tight three set match to reach semis
- Jasmine Conway reached the last eight in the Girls Singles but lost to Linda Klimovicova
LONDON, ENGLAND – Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury couldn’t convert five match points as they went out in the men’s doubles semi-finals in five sets while Alfie Hewett won his wheelchair quarter-final with Gordon Reid.
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Ram and Salisbury suffer semi-final heartbreak
Our round-up starts with top seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury who had breezed through the first three rounds and found themselves into the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles. In their quarter-final they were up against former finalists Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The French pair already had a five set epic in their opening round match and were keen to bring their aggressive style to the top seeds.
Ram and Salisbury dictated the early play as they took the opening set and believed they should have had a two set lead if it wasn’t for some hawkeye controversy. The French pair were not going to give up without a fight and continued to fight back as they levelled the match up at one set all and then two sets all. Overall the top seeds had more energy and aggression about their play as they squeezed into the semi-finals for a second year in a row 6-3 6-7(1) 6-1 3-6 6-4.
The American-British pairing were keen to improve on their performance from last year as they took on 14th seeds Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell in the last four. Ebden and Purcell had already knocked out Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski as well as John Peers and Filip Polasek, so this was going to be no easy task.
Just like their quarter-final Ram and Salisbury made the more positive start as they broke in the sixth game and won the crucial points against the Australian pairing to claim the opening set. In the second set both teams produced aggressive tennis with the top seeds hanging on to force a tiebreak. Ebden and Purcell played a poor tiebreak and the top seeds took advantage to take the tiebreak 7-1, as well as a two set lead.
As their backs were against the wall, the Australians produced better returning and took an early break lead as they took the match to Ram and Salisbury. The top seeds fought back though as Ram produced some clutch returning to break for 4-4 before the duo saved four break points to hold.
Another tiebreak approached and it looked as if Ram and Salisbury were heading to a straight sets victory as they managed to create five match points. However the pressure got to them with Ram missing a simple forehand at 6-5 before Salisbury hit a double fault on another one of the match points. The 14th seeds capitalised on the late-match nerves and won the tiebreak 11-9 to take the third set.
From then on it was the Australians who were controlling the momentum of the match as they broke in the tenth game after a nervy service game from Ram to claim the fourth set 6-4. Ebden and Purcell produced a high-quality fifth set to break twice and seal an incredible comeback to reach the Men’s doubles final.
It will be a match that neither Ram or Salisbury will want to watch back as they look forward to the US Open. Ebden and Purcell will meet former champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah or Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic who are in the semi-final.
Before that Ebden will return for the mixed doubles final which was delayed due to the Australian’s heroic men’s doubles efforts as he and Sam Stosur take on Britain’s Neal Skupski and Desirae Krawczyk. Skupski and Krawczyk reached the final by beating Pavic and Sania Mirza 4-6 7-5 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Hewett defeats Reid in all-British clash, Conway bows out in quarters
Onto the rest of the round-up and day eleven of the Championships saw the start of the Wheelchair events with the standout match seeing Alfie Hewett take on doubles partner Gordon Reid in the quarter-finals. A passionate crowd on Court 14 were there to witness the back and forth match that was littered with quality from all areas of the court.
Despite Reid’s late efforts to form a comeback it was Hewett who took the spoils 6-2 3-6 6-4 to reach the semi-finals where he will face old nemesis Gustavo Fernandez. In the Ladies event there was less success for Lucy Shuker as she bowed out to Japanese wildcard Momoko Ohtani 6-2 6-2.
Moving onto the Juniors event and there was mixed success in third round Ladies singles for Mingge Xu and Jasmine Conway. Starting with Xu, she couldn’t sustain the level that she produced in the previous two rounds as she was defeated comfortably by South African qualifier Isabella Kruger. However there was better success for Conway who produced a stunning performance to defeat Hayu Kinoshita 6-4 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals.
In the last eight she was up against 16th seed and another benefit of the Czech Republican talent pool in Linda Klimovicova. Conway produced a fantastic opening set as she took the opening set 6-2 with effortless power. However the Czech Republican stepped up her game when it mattered most as she completed a 2-6 6-2 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals.
Conway will look to build on this success as her future looks very bright if she can continue being consistent over the next year. Finally there was the start of the Under-14’s championship which is a new initiative to Wimbledon this year. There was an array of Brits in action but noticeable mention goes to Isabelle Britton who won both her round-robin matches on Thursday to be in a strong position to qualify for the final rounds of the tournament.
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