The six-strong squad of tennis players representing Special Olympics Great Britain enjoyed a successful first day of competition at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, with several members of the team guaranteed to be playing for gold and silver medals later in the week after opening victories
In the women's singles events Scotland's Lucy Porteous won her opening match against a player from Dominican Republic, while Wolverhampton's Jayne Hinett beat her Moroccan opponent.
Joseph Eccles, one of three players selected for Athens that are members of the Special Olympics East Midlands tennis squad based in Nottingham defeated a Greek opponent in the first of his men's singles matches, but his training partner Alex Eustace was unable to overcome the tough challenge posed by his German opponent.
In the women's doubles, Porteous and Hinett defeated a Moroccan duo in their opening match, while Eustace Joseph Eccles managed to edge the first of their men's doubles matches after winning a third and final set tie-break match against a pair from Chile.
Nottingham's Michael Clarke and Welshman Shain Lewis will hope for better fortunes in their next men's doubles match after an early loss to very good Australian doubles pairing.
Thursday sees the second day of tennis competition for the players and their Nottingham-based coaches Lesley and Matthew Whitehead, with play continuing through to the weekend, when the final medals will be decided.
Share