Great Britain’s Peter Norfolk won his fifth Australian Open quad singles title on Saturday at Melbourne Park, coming from a set down to beat defending champion and world No. 1 David Wagner of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
It is Norfolk’s sixth singles Grand Slam title after he won his first Australian Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships crown in 2004, before the event was classified at Grand Slam level. He has also won the US Open in New York twice.
Norfolk edged into a 3-1 lead in Melbourne, only for Wagner to hit back and secure four games in a row en route to taking the opening set.
But with the help of the fifth of his nine aces during the match, Norfolk came from a break down to lead the second set 2-1 and he never relinquished the advantage again. He extended his lead to 3-1 after the third deuce game of the second set and broke Wagner’s serve to love to level the match.
The world No.2 showed his experience in the deciding set building a commanding 5-1 lead.
And after Wagner had reduced his arrears to make it 5-2, Norfolk went on to earn himself two match points and only needed the first to regain the title he last won in 2010.
"I struggled for a while out there to find my game but I love the pressure of playing in a major final and I knew if I stuck with it, I could find my rhythm," said Norfolk.
"I'm absolutely thrilled with my fifth singles title at the Australian Open and I hope I can use this as my base for a very successful 2012."
Norfolk will leave Melbourne having won both the quad singles and quad doubles titles at the same Grand Slam for the first time in his career, having partnered fellow Briton Andy Lapthorne to win the Australian Open quad doubles title on Thursday.
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