The British Quad pairing of Peter Norfolk and Andy Lapthorne are one more victory away from winning Britain’s first Wheelchair Tennis Doubles gold medal at a Paralympic Games.
Norfolk is no stranger to gold, having won both Quad Singles titles since the category was introduced to the Games.
But Doubles gold has so far eluded him and his fellow British players – he had to settle for silver with Marc Eccleston in Athens and bronze partnering Jamie Burdekin in Beijing.
Norfolk, from Alton in Hampshire, now has another chance at gold on Wednesday 5 September.
Norfolk and Lapthorne, who are top seeds for the London 2012 tournament, booked their place in the final with a 6-2 6-2 win over Shota Kawano and Mitsuteru Moroishi of Japan in this afternoon sunshine at Eton Manor.
It means they are now guaranteed at least a silver medal – but Norfolk said he’s confident they will reach the top step of the podium.
He said: “We'll win the final I'm sure, whoever we play. The whole Games have been absolutely amazing so far and I'm so proud to be a part of it and have secured a medal.”
“I was really nervous but I'm so happy to win and at least go one better than in Beijing. Andy was definitely the dominant player and he kept us in there and hit some great shots.”
Lapthorne, from Eastcote in Middlesex, added: “We'll work so hard to get the gold and I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd win a Paralympic medal.”
Meanwhile Lucy Shuker, Britain’s no. 8 seed in the women’s Singles, cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-0 6-2 win over Emmy Kaiser of the USA.
She now faces a tough clash with no. 3 seed Jiske Griffioen of the Netherlands for a place in the semis. But Shuker, who lives in Fleet in Hampshire and trains in Taunton, is confident she can win.
“To be fair to Emmy, I think the crowd got to her a bit,” said Shuker after beating Kaiser. “Obviously they were right behind me so I loved the experience on centre court again.
“I felt more at home out there than I did in my first round and the conditions were just perfect for tennis, with very little wind and beautiful sunshine.
“I know I’ll be facing a tough opponent in the next round and I’m ready for that step up in class. But I will just play my own game, keep to my strategy and with the crowd behind me, I’m confident I can win.”
Marc McCarroll and Gordon Reid face a men’s Doubles quarter-final against France’s no. 4 seeds Frederic Cattaneo and Nicolas Peifer after winning their second-round match today.
The British no. 7 seeds beat Belgium’s Mike Denayer and Joachim Gerard 6-4, 6-3. The Belgians battled back from 4-1 down in the first set to level up at 4-4 before the GB held their serve and then broke services to take the first set.
McCarroll and Reid were 5-1 in the second set, before a late fightback from the Belgians. But the Brits killed them off to take the set 6-3.
McCarroll, from Ickenham in Middlesex, said: “I did get a bit tense out there but with all that support, it got me back on track. We know we can compete against the French pair in the next round and we've taken them close before.
“It really doesn't get any better than playing tennis with this crowd in the sunshine,” he added. “It really helps us and hopefully everyone will come back out to support us again on Wednesday.”
“We know our matches will get tougher now, but with the form we're in, we can beat anyone. I definitely play my best tennis under pressure and I think you could see that at the end of the match when they were coming back at us, but I pulled out some big shots.
Reid, from Helensburgh in Scotland, who also still features in the Singles draw, added: “The doubles and singles are both equally important to me and it's no problem playing both. I know I can compete with the best in the world in both events.”
But Alex Jewitt and Dave Phillipson couldn’t join their compatriots in the last eight. They went down 6-0 6-2 to France’s top seeds Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz.
Jewitt from Sheffield said: “We're pleased in a way as we did the things we wanted to a lot of the time. But they are just so good and they aren't the reigning champions for nothing.
“The whole experience has been amazing and we've still enjoyed ourselves. Big thanks to the amazing crowds every time we've played.”
Phillipson, from Bingham in Nottinghamshire, added: “We had belief throughout the match but hats off to them as they played so well.
“The scoreline doesn't reflect how close it was and we were unlucky not to pick up more games.”
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