Shuker and Whiley reach Wimbledon final

Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley have become the first all-British wheelchair tennis pair to reach a Wimbledon final after they won their last four encounter at The Championships today.

Shuker and Whiley, who won their first ITF1 doubles title together in May at the Atlanta Open, defeated No.2 seeds Sharon Walraven from the Netherlands and Belgian Annick Sevenans in a repeat of that final.

The duo came back from 5-2 down and saved three set points to take it to a tense first set tie-break, which they held strong to claim 7-5. The second set was more straight forward as they clinched the match and a place in the final 7-6(5), 6-3.

"It's a pretty incredible feeling right now and I absolutely cannot wait for the final on Sunday, especially as we'll be on a show court on Court three," said 20-year-old Whiley.

"We had a bad loss last week at the French Open and to put that out of our systems and reach the final at Wimbledon shows how far we've come as a partnership."

"It's my third final at Wimbledon but to do it with a fellow Brit in Paralympic year is extra special. We were a bit tense to begin with but both started hitting well and we're here to win our first Grand Slam title," added Shuker, who reached the final in 2009 and 2010 with Australian Daniela di Toro.

Their final opponents are yet to be decided as the all-Dutch encounter of Esther Vergeer and Marjolein Buis against Jiske Griffioen and Aniek Van Koot is still underway on Court 14.

Tomorrow sees Brits Gordon Reid and Marc McCarroll in action in their men's semi-final against top seeds Robin Ammerlaan and Ronald Vink.

Share