22/03/15
Brits won three titles at the Pensacola Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships over the weekend with Gordon Reid clinching victory in the men’s singles and doubles, while London 2012 bronze medallists Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley teamed up to win their second women’s doubles title this season.
Meanwhile, Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne finished runners-up in the quad doubles to American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner.
After a first round bye, world No. 3 and top seed Reid had his toughest challenge in the men’s singles event in his opening contest against fellow Brit David Phillipson. After dropping the first set on a tiebreak, Reid held on for a 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-4 win and went on to earn three more straight sets wins, culminating in a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Dutch world No. 7 Maikel Scheffers in Sunday’s final to retain his Pensacola title.
It was a double celebration for Reid as he teamed up with Belgium’s Joachim Gerard to clinch the men’s doubles title. Playing in their first event together Reid and Gerard notched up three straight sets wins, defeating second seeds Michael Jeremiasz and Nicolas Peifer of France 6-4, 6-2 in the men’s doubles final, giving Reid his fourth doubles title of 2015.
“I’m very happy to retain my title after a tough start,” said Reid. “I’ve got better as the tournament’s gone on and with two titles behind me in Pensacola I’m looking forward to moving on and defending another title at the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge. I’m also playing with Joachim in Louisiana, so we will be out to maintain our unbeaten record.”
Shuker and Whiley made it two women’s doubles titles in their last two tournaments together after the top seeds edged out Dutch second seeds Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra 7-6(9), 7-6(3) in the final, to add the title to the one they won at the USN Bolton Arena Indoor event they won last month.
World No. 10 Shuker and world No. 5 Whiley made fine starts to their singles semi-finals as they attempted to set up an all-British singles final, but after taking the opening sets of their matches against top seed Sabine Ellerbrock and third seed Buis, both Brits bowed out after narrow defeats.
“We are delighted with the doubles win and to make it two titles from two tournaments this season.” said Shuker. “I really felt I could have won my singles semi-final and should have closed it out in two sets, but I must take the positives of two solid performances, beating world No. 8 Katharina Kruger 6-0, 6-1 in the quarters and nearly beating the world No. 4. It shows the hard work I’ve been doing at home in training is paying off and I am confident that the wins against these top girls will come.”
“To end the tournament with another doubles title with Lucy when I wasn’t playing my best all week is very satisfying,” said Whiley. “After our London 2012 bronze medal it’s great to make it two from two this season as we work towards Rio. It was an up and down tournament for me and the positive thing is I still took the world No. 6 to a deciding set when I wasn’t producing my best tennis, so I will regroup before Baton Rouge and look for some more big performances there. “
“As UK Sport launch their Every Road to Rio campaign this week it's fantastic to see the success of our players on the world stage in the USA in the last week,” said Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation’s Head of Disability Player Performance. “These two tournaments are an important step on the journey to the 2016 Paralympics and hopefully there will be more success at the upcoming Cajun Classic.”
Burdekin and Lapthorne, also semi-finalists in the quad singles, were edged out by three-time Paralympic gold medallists Taylor and Wagner 6-4, 6-4 in the quad doubles final in Pensacola. They will now join Reid, Shuker and Whiley among eight Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme contesting the Cajun Classic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which begins on Wednesday.
Pensacola Open Draws
21/03/15
Gordon Reid, Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley clinched victories in the men’s and women’s doubles on the penultimate day of play in Pensacola as Reid also moved into the men’s singles final in his quest to retain the title.
Top seed Reid beat French third seed Nicolas Peifer 6-4, 6-3 in his men’s singles semi-final and goes up against Dutch fourth seed and world No. 7 Maikel Scheffers in Sunday’s final.
Reid and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard will head to next week’s Cajun Classic unbeaten as a doubles partnership after winning their first tournament together. The top seeds beat French second seeds Michael Jeremiasz and Nicolas Peifer 6-4, 6-2 in the final to make it three straight sets wins in three matches In Pensacola.
London 2012 bronze medallists Shuker and Whiley won the important points in the women’s doubles final to beat Dutch second seeds Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra 7-6(9), 7-6(3) as last month’s USN Bolton Arena Indoor champions sealed their second successive title together this season.
However, Shuker and Whlley were unable to build on one set leads in their respective women’s singles semi-finals as Shuker bowed out to top seed Sabine Ellerbrock 5-7, 6-4 6-4 and Whiley saw her challenge for another title come to an end against Dutch third seed Marjolein Buis 2-6, 6-4 6-3.
20/03/15
Gordon Reid, Jordanne Whiley and Lucy Shuker all advanced to the men’s and women’s singles semi-finals and the men’s and women’s doubles finals in Pensacola as Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne finished runners-up in the quad doubles.
Top seed Reid continued his men’s singles title defence with a 6-1, 63 quarter-final win over former world No. 1 ranked Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz that earns the world No. 3 a semi-final against French third seed Nicolas Peifer.
World No. 10 and sixth seed Shuker was in in imperious form in her women’s singles quarter-final, racing to her second win of 2015 over world No. 8 Katharina Kruger.6-0, 6-1. Shuker will also face German opposition in her semi-final when she plays top seed Sabine Ellerbrock.
Second seed Whiley beat seventh seed Michaela Spaanstra 6-3, 6-2 in her quarter-final and goes on to play Spaanstra’s fellow Dutchwoman, third seed Marjolein Buis, for a place in the women’s final.
With at least one Brit already assured of a place in the women’s doubles final, top seeds Shuker and Whiley beat British No. 3 Hunt and Kruger 6-2, 6-3 in their semi-final ahead of playing second seeds Buis and Spaanstra for the title.
Meanwhile, the first-time partnership of Reid and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard made it two wins from two matches when they won their men’s doubles semi-final against the Dutch-Swedish combination of Maikel Scheffers and Stefan Olsson 6-4, 6-4.
Reid and Gerard will play second seeds Jeremiasz and Peifer in the final after the French duo beat the British fourth seeds Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson 6-3, 6-2 in the last four.
Second seeds Burdekin and Lapthorne were runners-up to Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the quad doubles final as the American top seeds clinched their eight successive Pensacola Open title 6-4, 6-4.
Burdekin had set points in both sets of his quad singles semi-final against world No. 1 Wagner, but Wagner eventually edged to a 7-6(6), 7-5 win. Meanwhile, Lapthorne’s bid for a place in the singles final ended in a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Australian world No. 2 Dylan Alcott.
19/03/15
Gordon Reid and Jordanne Whiley won the two all-British contests on the second day of action in Pensacola to reach the men’s and women’ singles quarter-finals, with Lucy Shuker joining Whiley in the women’s last eight. Andy Lapthorne and Jaimie Burdekin also advanced to the quad single semi-finals and teamed up to reach the quad doubles final.
World No. 3 Reid edged out British No. 3 David Phillipson 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 as the two Brits went to a deciding set in international competition for the ninth time in 21 matches, with Reid to continue his Pensacola title defence with a quarter-final against former world No. 1 Michael Jeremiasz of France, who beat British No. 2 Marc McCarroll 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Whiley beat British No. 3 Hunt in 6-2, 6-3 in their women’s singles second round match and the British No. 1 and second seed goes on to play Dutch seventh seed Michaela Spaanstra for a place in the semi-finals. Sixth seed Shuker will take on German fourth seed Katharina Kruger in the last eight after defeating Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana 6-0, 6-1.
Lapthorne will play Australian world No. 2 Dylan Alcott for a place in the quad singles final after the world No. 3’s comfortable 6-0, 6-4 win over Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva. Fourth seed and world No. 5 Jamie Burdekin will meet American world No. 1 and defending champion David Wagner in their quad singles semi-final after Burdekin’s 7-6, 6-1 victory over Israel’s Itay Erenlib.
Second seeds Burdekin and Lapthorne will play American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the quad doubles final after their 6-3, 6-0 semi-final victory over Erenlib and his compatriot Haim Lev.
At least one Brit is guaranteed a place in the women’s doubles final after top seeds Shuker and Whiley won their quarter-final against Americans Emmy Kaiser and Kaitlyn Verfuerth 6-3, 6-2. Third seeds Hunt and Kruger won their last eight contest against Mexico’s Claudia Taboada and Rosalba Vazquez 6-2, 6-0 and will now play Shuker and Whiley.
All three Brits in the men’s doubles have also advanced to the semi-finals. Reid and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard started their bid for the title with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Americans Hunter Groce and Larry Keeter before going on to play the third seeds, Sweden’s Stefan Olsson and Dutchman Maikel Scheffers. Fourth seeds McCarroll and Phillipson meet French second seeds Jeremiasz and Nicolas Peifer after their 6-1, 6-4 victory over South Africa’s Evans Maripa and Daniel Rodrigues of Brazil.
18/03/15
David Phillipson, Louise Hunt, Andy Lapthorne and Jamie Burdekin all earned straight sets wins on the first day of play in Pensacola, with Phillipson and Hunt now set for all-British second round contests.
Phillipson beat Patrice Meyer of France 6-0, 6-0 ahead of playing British No. 1 and top seed David Phillipson for a place in the men’s singles quarter-finals. After Marc McCarroll also had a first round bye along with Red, the British No. 2 and sixth seed will face Michael Jeremiasz of France to earn a place in the last eight against Reid and McCarroll.
Hunt will play British No. 1 and second seed Jordanne Whiley next after her 6-2, 6-1 win first round win over Russia’s Polina Shakirova, with Lucy Shuker set to play Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana after her first round bye.
Quad singles third seed Lapthorne will meet Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva in the quarterfinals after defeating Canada’s Gary Luker 6-3, 6-1, while fourth seed Burdekin will meet Israel’s Itay Erenlib in the last eight after opening his challenge with a comprehensive 6-0, 6-0 win over American Steven Baxter.
Fourth seeds McCarroll and Phillipson moved into the last eight of the men’s doubles after beating American Nick Burnham and Yusuke Nishimura of Japan 6-1, 61, with South Africa’s Evans Maripa and Daniel Rodrigues of Brazil their quarterfinal opponents. Reid and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard, the top seeds, had a first round bye before going on to play American duo Hunter Groce and Lawrence Keeter.
All three Brits in the women’s doubles had first round byes, with top seeds Shuker and Whiley set to play the all-American partnership of Emmy Kaiser and Kaitlyn Verfuerth in the last eight. Fourth seeds Hunt and Katharina Kruger of Germany have a quarter-final against Mexican duo Claudia Taboada and Rosalba Vazquez.
Burdekin and Lapthorne, second seeds for the quad doubles set up a semi-final against Erenlib and Haim Lev after beating American Buck and Silva 6-0, 7-6.
17/03/15
Eight Brits line up in Pensacola for the first of two back-to-back ITF 1 Series tournaments in the USA, with Gordon Reid the defending men’s singles champion at both. The Pensacola Open takes place from 18th to 22nd March.
World No. 3 Reid, the winner of one singles and three doubles titles so far this season, beat Argentina’s current world No. 4 Gustavo Fernandez in the men’s singles final in Pensacola in 2014, and also partnered Fernandez to the men’s doubles final. In Fernandez’s absence this year Reid is set to be top seed for the singles and one of four world top 10 ranked players in the men’s draw. British No. 2 and world No. 12 Marc McCarroll is sixth seed, with British No. 3 David Phillipson also in the field.
Reid has a bye into the second round and could then meet Phillipson if Phillipson wins his opening match against Patrice Meyer of France. McCarroll is in the same quarter of the draw as Reid and Phillipson and also has a first round bye before playing Michael Jeremiasz of France or Atif Moon of the USA.
Britain’s top three women’s players Jordanne Whiley, Lucy Shuker and Louise Hunt are among those vying for success in the women’s singles and doubles, world No. 5 Whiley having been a singles semi-finalist in 2014. Whiley was also winner of the women’s doubles partnering South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane last year after Whiley and Shuker both reached the women’s doubles final.
Whiley is second seed this year and after a first round bye she could play Hunt, if Hunt wins her opeming contest against Russia's Polina Shakirova. World No. 10 and sixth seed Shuker will play one of two Chilean players, Maria Paz Diaz or Macarena Cabrillana, in her second round match aftera bye.
World No. 3 and Australian Open quad doubles champion Andy Lapthorne and world No. 5 Jamie Burdekin contest the quad singles and doubles this year after fellow Brit Antony Cotterill was a finalist in the quad doubles in Pensacola in 2014.
Third seed Lapthorne plays Canada's Gary Luker in his quad singles first round match, with fourth seed Burdekin taking on American Steven Baxter.
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