17/03/13
Alex Jewitt and Louise Hunt won the men's and women's singles titles at the Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament as Britain's third world ranking tournament on the 2013 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour drew to a close at Graves Tennis Centre.
British No. 4 and second seed Jewitt celebrated a home town victory in the men's singles after a tense final in which he beat British No. 3 and top seed David Phillipson 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, ending Phillipson's hopes of making a winning seasonal debut.
Hunt made it three titles from two tournaments in 2013 when she won both the women's singles and women's doubles titles. Top seed Hunt, runner-up in the women's singles at last weekend's Biel-Bienne Indoors, beat second seed Lauren Jones 6-1, 6-2 in the women's singles final in Sheffield.
Phillipson ended the tournament with the men's doubles title to his name. Top seeds Phillipson and Alfie Hewett beat second seeds Josh Steels and Paul Stewart 6-0, 6-3 in the final, giving 15-year-old world No. 1 ranked junior Hewett his third successive doubles title in Britain this season.
Hunt partnered Jones to win the women's doubles as the top seeds beat Debbie Brazier and Caroline Wareing 6-3, 6-2.
View the final results here (PDF, opens in new window).
16/03/13
Britain's No. 3 sand No. 4 ranked players contest Sunday's men's singles final in Sheffield after David Phillipson ended Alfie Hewett's bid reach his third successive final of the season in Britain.
Top seed Phillipson will face local Sheffield favourite Alex Jewitt in the men's final, while the top two seeds will also meet in the women's singles final as Louise Hunt takes on Lauren Jones.
British No. 3 Phillipson moved to within one win over making a triumphant seasonal debut in Sheffield when he beat third seed Hewett 6-1, 6-1.
Meanwhile, second seed Jewitt secured a 6-3, 6-2 win over fourth seed Paul Stewart to maintain his own hopes of making a victorious start to his season on home soil.
British women's No.3 Hunt reached her second NEC Tour final in successive weeks after beating Caroline Wareing 6-0, 6-1, but Jones had to go to three sets in her semi-final after a mid-match dip before finally defeating Debbie Brazier 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.
Hewett and Phillipson will look to justify top seeding for the men's doubles after beating Jewitt and Tony Knappett 6-1, 6-3 in the semi-finals.
Second seeds Josh Steels and Stewart held on to book their place in the final when they beat Mehboob Hussain and John Lambert 6-2, 7-5.
Brazier and Wareing justified their second seeding to win their women's doubles semi-final against Helen Bond and Michelle Oglesby 6-1, 7-6(3). Brazier and Wareing face top seeds Hunt and Jones in Sunday's final.
15/03/13
All four seeded players won two matches apiece to book men's singles semi-final places after the first day of play at Graves Tennis Centre.
After a series of straight sets win in the first round top seed David Phillipson beat Josh Steels 6-1, 6-0 in the quarter-finals as he completed his first two matches of 2013 for the loss of just five games.
British No. 3 Phillipson will face 15-year-old third seed Alfie Hewett in the semi-finals after world No. 1 junior Hewett furthered his bid to win his second world ranking event of the year in Britain by defeating Tony Knappett 6-0, 6-4.
In the bottom half of the men's singles draw local favourite Alex Jewitt also won his quarter-final 6-0, 6-4 as the second seed held off John Lambert to set up a semi-final against fourth seed Paul Stewart. Stewart faced a tough second set challenge from Glen Gent, but won through to the last four 6-1, 7-5.
With top seed Louise Hunt having had a bye into the last four of the women's singles, second seed Lauren Jones joined Hunt in the semi-finals after easing past Michelle Oglesby 6-0, 6-1. Jones, the world No. 1 ranked junior, will face Debbie Brazier for a place in the final after Brazier beat Helen Bond 7-5, 6-1.
Hunt will open her singles challenge against Caroline Wareing, who was a 6-0, 6-0 winner over Laura Swetman in their quarter-final.
Jewitt and Knappett were one of two partnerships to reach the men's doubles semi-finals on the opening day after defeating fellow Brit Steve Metcalfe and Dutchman Pim Palmen 6-4, 6-1.
In the bottom half of the men's doubles draw Mehboob Hussain and John Lambert also moved into the semi-finals after beating Gent and Shaun Swetman 6-1, 6-2.
View the latest draws here (PDF, link opens in new window).
View Saturday's order of play here (PDF, link opens in new window).
12/03/13
Three of Great Britain's London 2012 Paralympians are among an impressive field of 29 players for the Sheffield Wheelchair Tennis Tournament, which takes place at Graves Tennis Centre from 15-17 March.
A former home to the National Wheelchair Tennis Championships, Graves Tennis Centre will host a world ranking event on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour for the first time, having being awarded ITF Futures Series status this year after hosting a Tennis Foundation Wheelchair Tennis Development Series tournament for development players in recent seasons.
Sheffield's Alex Jewitt joins Nottinghamshire's David Phillipson as the top seeds for the men's singles, with both players having represented their country at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Paralympics.
Top seed and British No. 3 Phillipson is making his seasonal debut in Sheffield, while second seed Jewitt will hope to impress at his home tennis centre, having made his 2013 debut last month at the North East Tournament in Sunderland, where he reached the semi-finals before bowing out to British No. 1 and world No. 8 Gordon Reid.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 ranked junior Alfie Hewett will provide stiff opposition, having won the North West Challenge in Preston, Britain's first world ranking tournament of 2013, last month, before also reaching the semi-finals in Sunderland
Jewitt became a dad to twins shortly before Christmas and is looking forward to the challenge of a world ranking event in his home city.
"Since the twins arrived there have been lots of family commitments caring for them and wheelchair tennis has had to come second for a while, but it will be a special feeling to play an NEC Tour event at Grave Tennis Centre this year and to do well there would mean so much," said Jewitt.
"The National Wheelchair Tennis Championships were being held at the tennis centre the week I came home from hospital in 1998 after my accident and I went to watch and that's when I first discovered the sport. I've trained there ever since, supported by Sheffield International Venues.
"It will be an exciting weekend and I encourage anyone to come along and watch some great sport."
British No. 3 Louise Hunt is top seed for the women's singles and arrives in Sheffield on the back of reaching the women's singles final and winning the women's doubles on her seasonal debut last weekend at the Biel-Bienne Indoors in Switzerland. Hunt's main opposition is likely to come from Lauren Jones, currently the world No. 1 junior girls' player, who has been a semi-finalist in the women's singles at the first two British tournaments this season on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour.