Gordon Reid reached the men’s singles semi-finals at Roland Garros for the second successive year as the second wheelchair tennis Grand Slam event of 2014 got underway on Wednesday, with the Brit dealing admirably with the rain-interrupted schedule to secure a three set win over Japan’s world No. 8 Takuya Miki.
A year on from making his Grand Slam singles debut in Paris in 2013, world No. 3 Reid beat Miki 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-4 to earn a semi-final on Thursday against world No. 2 Stephane Houdet of France, the Roland Garros champion for the last two years.
“I’m pleased to get through the first round and defend my points from last year after a tricky day and hopefully I can turn the tables on Stephane now,” said Reid, who saw his 2013 challenge come to an end against Houdet in the last four.
Later in the day Reid saw his bid to reach a second successive men’s doubles final in Paris thwarted when he and Dutchman Maikel Scheffers slipped to a narrow 6-4, 7-6(7) loss to Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer of France.
There was also disappointment for Jordanne Whiley in the women’s singles as the British No. 1 and world No. 5 lost out to her doubles partner Yui Kamiji of France. Whiley bowed out 6-2, 6-2 to Kamiji ahead of the Grand Slam-winning duo beginning their women’s doubles challenge on Thursday.
Whiley and Kamiji, the 2013 Wimbledon runners-up and 2014 Australian Open champions and second seeds in Paris, will meet Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock and South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane in their semi-final.
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