Britain's Andrew Lapthorne and Jordanne Whiley make their Grand Slam debuts this week in the Australian Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships at Melbourne Park, while Peter Norfolk bids for his fifth Australian Open quad singles title when the event gets underway on Wednesday.
Twenty-year--old Lapthorne joins defending champion Norfolk in the four-player field for the quad singles after being awarded the one available wild card slot less than two weeks ago. The British duo will also pair up in the quad doubles as they bid to dethrone American defending champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner.
"It feels great to finally realise my dream of playing at a Grand Slam. Being alongside the professional players - the likes of Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray - is just so inspiring," said world No 6 Lapthorne, who plays Norfolk in the first of his three matches in the round-robin phase of the competition on Wednesday before then playing Taylor and Wagner. The top two players after the round-robin matches will go forward to the final.
Norfolk goes into the event just eight points adrift of world No 1 Wagner at the top of the world quad singles rankings and, having beaten Wagner twice in 2010 to win his fourth title in Melbourne, if he can do the same again he could be set for a return to the top spot. However, the two-time Paralympic champion knows he will have strong opposition after losing to Wagner for the first time in a Grand Slam final at last September's US Open in New York.
"The drive to not lose is what keeps me motivated; the challenge is in winning. I want another koala bear," said Norfolk, referring to the Australian Open mascot he has received along with the Australian Open trophy in each of the last three seasons, having won his first Australian Open title in 2004.
"Alongside the Paralympics the Grand Slams are the pinnacle, they are great arenas to be in. I like the feeling of winning Grand Slams and I believe I have more in me," added Norfolk, who has won a total of 18 of the sport's major titles - either at Grand Slams or at Super Series events, the top tier of stand alone wheelchair tennis events outside of the Grand Slams.
Lapthorne and Norfolk will meet Taylor and Wagner in Friday's quad doubles decider, a test that both players relish.
"It's special to play with Andy at a Grand Slam," said Norfolk. "In our last tournament together we beat Nick and David to win the Doubles Masters in November, but this is Andy's first Grand Slam and he didn't find out he was in until quite late, but we will rise to the challenge and try and become the first all-British pairing to win a Grand Slam wheelchair doubles title."
Whiley arrived in Melbourne at the end of last week expecting to play the ITF 3 Series Melbourne Open this week at Albert Reserve Tennis Centre, the practice ground for the Australian Open. However, British No 1 Lucy Shuker has has had to withdraw from the Australian Open with an injury, giving British No 2 and world No 10 Whiley the wild card slot she was just one place away from securing at the original entry closing date.
"I was a bit shocked to hear I would be playing the Grand Slam instead of the ITF 3, but I'm more excited than anything else. I look forward to playing some good tennis and I'm going to enjoy it," said 18-year-old Whiley, who is due to play Dutch world No 4 Jiske Griffioen in her opening women's singles match on Wednesday.
Whiley will also play doubles with Australia's Daniela di Toro, who had been set to partner Shuker this week. Whiley forms a first-time partnership with di Toro, who has teamed up with Shuker to reach three Grand Slam finals, including two Wimbledon finals and last year's final at Melbourne Park.
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