Gordon Reid by Mathilde Dusol
26/05/13
GB men secure fifth place at BNP Paribas World Team Cup 2013
Great Britain have finished fifth in the men’s World Group at the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup for the second successive year after ending their week in Antalya on a winning note, beating Argentina 2-0.
David Phillipson dominated the opening singles rubber against Jose Castricini, easing to 6-0, 6-1 victory, while world No. 6 Gordon Reid battled his way to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 4 Gustavo Fernandez, also for the second successive year.
“After getting so close to reaching the semi-finals earlier in the week it’s great to finish the week with a good performance,” said Reid. “Last year I also had a close three set match against Gustavo to help seal fifth place for Great Britain and since then we’ve both improved and moved up the rankings, so it was always going to be a tough match. Gustavo has had a good week and beat the world No. 1 Shingo Kunieda a couple of days ago, so I’m delighted with the performance today and for us to end with a victory.”
Later in the day, at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup Tournament Dinner, Reid received his award for being voted Male player of the Year for 2012 on the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour, while Martin McElhatton, chairman of the National Wheelchair Tennis Association and a past World Team Cup captain for Great Britain, received the prestigious Brad Parks Award for his outstanding contribution to wheelchair tennis on a national and international level since 1986.
Great Britain ends the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup having won the junior title for the second time, also finishing as silver medallists in the women’s World Group for the second time.
While Great finished fifth in the men’s World Group, the quad team finished eighth in the quad event.
24/05/13
Great Britain seal BNP Paribas World Team Cup Junior Title 2013
Great Britain won the BNP Paribas World Team Cup title on Friday’s fifth day of play in Antalya, Turkey after Alfie Hewett and Lauren Jones combined to beat Spain 2-1 in thrilling circumstances, cheered on by their team mate Luz Esperanza Merry and team Captain Ash Smith.
After Jones faced a tough opening singles rubber, which was won 6-2, 6-0 by Spain’s Martin de la Puente, Hewett stormed through the second singles rubber against Felix Garcia 6-0, 6-1.
Hewett and Jones then came from a set and 3-0 down to win the title in a championship tie-break, beating Garcia and de la Puente 4-6, 7-5, (10-4) to avenge a 2-1 loss to Spain earlier in the week in the round-robin phase of the competition.
“It means a lot, especially as this is my last year as a junior, so it’s nice to finish on top” said Jones.
“I was ill at the start of the week, so it wasn’t the best prep. But it’s ended well.”
“Neither of us will forget this. It’s my fourth World Team Cup and after only getting one bronze medal before this, the one that we won last year, it’s tremendous,” said Hewett.
Earlier in the day Great Britain’s women’s team won silver in the World Group for the second time since 2009.
With GB taking on top seeds the Netherlands, Jordanne Whiley made an encouraging start against world No.2 Jiske Griffioen, but was edged out in the opening set of the first singles rubber before Griffioen moved away in the second set to win 7-5, 6-2.
Lucy Shuker took on world No. 1 Aniek van Koot in the second singles rubber and came back from 5-1 down in the opening set to make it 5-3, but van Koot eventually proved too strong and completed a 6-3, 6-2 victory to give the Netherlands a 26th World Team Cup women’s title.
Great Britain’s men’s team will play for fifth place in the men’s World Group on Saturday after beating Austria 2-1.
David Phillipson beat Thomas Mossier 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the first singles rubber of GB’s first play-off tie, but after Marc McCarroll had slipped to a 6-1, 7-5 loss to former world No.3 Martin Legner in the second singles, McCarroll partnered Gordon Reid to beat Legner and Mossier 6-0, 6-1. Great Britain now play Argentina for fifth place.
The Great Britain quad team have finished eighth after a tough final contest against Canada. Adam Field was edged out by Canada’s Gary Luker 6-4, 7-6(7) in the first rubber of the tie, while former world No.2 Sarah Hunter beat Antony Cotterill 6-1, 7-5 to put Great Britain’s quest for a seventh place finish beyond reach. Adrian Dieleman and Hunter completed 3-0 win for Canada after winning the doubles against Cotterill and Field 6-2, 6-3.
Lauren Jones by Mathilde Dusol
23/05/13
GB teams reach finals of BNP Paribas World Team Cup
Great Britain’s women’s and junior teams are both through to Friday’s finals of their respective events after both winning their semi-finals in deciding doubles rubbers on Thursday’s fourth day of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
Third seeds Great Britain upset second seeds and 2011 finalists Germany in the women’s World Group semi-finals after London 2012 Paralympic women’s doubles bronze medallists Lucy Shuker and Joranne Whiley eased through the deciding doubles rubber.
Whiley bounced back from a set down to win her opening singles rubber against Katharina Kruger 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, but after beating Sabine Ellerbrock in last year’s bronze medal play-off Shuker could not get on top of her opponent this year and Ellerbrock sealed a 6-3, 6-1 win to level the contest.
However, Shuker and Whiley dominated the doubles from the outset, recording a comfortable 6-1, 6-2 victory to put Great Britain in a second World Team Cup final, having first reached the final on home soil in Nottingham in 2009.
“Jordanne played an outstanding singles match and hustled really well, as that’s probably the best I’ve seen Katharina play. So Jordanne did really well and I had a great start to my singles match and went 3-0 up,“ said Shuker, “But then I started to struggle on the clay court, was bit late on the balls and wasn’t quite getting the contact right. After my singles I had time to regroup and that’s one of the best doubles matches we’ve ever played together. We just used the whole court really well.”
Shuker, Whiley and Louise Hunt, the third member of the Great Britain team, will now face top seeds and 25-time champions the Netherlands in Friday’s women’s World Group final.
After Alfie Hewett and Lauren Jones won the bronze medal in the junior event in 2012, they and team mate Luz Esperanza Merry go into Friday’s junior final with hopes of lifting the title for Great Britain, with Hewett and Jones combining superbly to secure a 2-1 victory over second seeds the Netherlands in Thursday’s semi-final.
Jones, a former world No.1 junior girls’ player, put up a superb effort against the current world No.1 junior girls’ player Diede de Groot in the opening singles rubber before de Groot claimed the match 6-2, 6-4.
Hewett, the world No.1 ranked junior boys’ player kept Great Britain in the tie after reeling off six games in a row in the second set against Carlos Anker to win the second singles rubber 6-0, 6-2. Hewett and Jones then came from 4-2 down in the second set of the deciding doubles rubber to win 6-1, 6-4
Great Britain now face Spain in Friday’s final and will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to the Spanish in the round-robin phase of the competition earlier in the week after another tie that ended in a deciding doubles.
“I thought we won it well. I am very happy with both our performances as it was a tough match,” said Hewett. “I thought Lauren played very well and after getting to the semi-finals last year it was that belief that we could go a step further that got us through. We believe that we can now go on and win it and are looking forward to the challenge of tomorrow’s final.”
“It feels great and obviously last year we lost at this stage and got the bronze, so this year would obviously like to go all the way,” said Jones. We always had confidence that we were both playing well and there were just a few unforced errors from us that put us behind in the second set. As soon as we relaxed and hit our shots we could see they were getting nervous.”
While there was good news for the women’s and junior teams, Great Britain’s men were edged out of a place in the men’s World Group semi-finals by Sweden in the second of their round-robin group ties.
David Phillipson slipped to a 6-2, 6-4 defeat against Peter Vikstrom in the opening singles rubber, but world No.6 Gordon Reid confidently kept Great Britain’s hopes alive after beating world No.7 Stefan Olsson 6-0, 6-1.
With Marc McCarroll and Reid facing London 2012 men’s doubles gold medallists Olsson and Vikstrom in the crucial doubles match, Great Britain had two match points at a set and 6-5 up and then had another at 9-8 in the deciding championship tie-break. However, Olsson and Vikstrom managed to recover on both occasions to close out a 3-6, 7-6(2), (11-9) victory.
“Obvioussly it’s disappointing not to have won after getting so close,” said Reid. “But they won the gold medal at London 2012 and are not Paralympic champions for nothing, so we knew it was going to be a tough match. However, we’ll regroup and prepare ourselves for trying to secure fifth place over the next couple of days."
Great Britain will play now play Austria in their first play-off contest in the quest to finish fifth.
Alfie Hewett by Mathilde Dusol
23/05/13
Great Britain’s women’s and junior teams both reached the semi-finals of their respective events on the third day of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup.
The GB juniors beat the USA in their crucial final round-robin group tie after a deciding doubles rubber to avenge their loss to the USA in last year’s semi-finals.
Lauren Jones made a good start to the opening singles rubber against American Krystal Kelley, but Kelly fought back for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory. After Alfie Hewett had beaten Chris Herman 6-1, 6-1 to force the tie into the doubles rubber, Hewett and Jones put in a confident performance to defeat Herman and Kelley 6-3, 6-3, earning top seeds Great Britain a semi-final against second seed the Netherlands on centre court on Thursday.
"I'm very pleased, it's been a tough couple of days,” said Hewett. “We had a long match against Spain yesterday and we've both recovered very well. I knew today would be very tough, too, especially the doubles, but we both played very well and did what we needed to do, so we're looking forward to tomorrow."
Jordanne Whiley beat Lola Ochoa 6-2, 6-2 en route to Great Britain’s 3-0 win over Spain in the final set of women’s World Group round-robin ties. Lucy Shuker put the tie beyond Spain after defeating Elena Jacinto 6-3, 6-2, before Louise Hunt partnered Whiley to ease past Jacinto and Ochoa 6-0, 6-2.
Great Britain, third seeds for this year’s World Team Cup, face second seeds Germany in Thursday’s semi-finals as Hunt, Shuker and Whiley attempt to reach their second World Team Cup final since 2009.
In the men’s World Group Great Britain got off to a confident start, beating Korea Republic 3-0. After Marc McCarroll beat Ji-Hwan Lee 6-3, 6-0, world No. 6 Gordon Reid earned 6-0, 6-1 win over Sam-Ju Kim to clinch the tie before partnering David Phillipson to beat Kim and Sang-Ho Oh 6-2, 6-0.
Great Britain now have a must-win contest against two-time former champions Sweden on Thursday in an attempt to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2010.
Great Britain’s quad team signed off their last round-robin tie on a successful note after winning the doubles rubber of their contest against the USA, despite the Americans having already won the tie.
Adam Field managed to get one game on the board against London 2012 quad singles bronze medallist Nick Taylor, while world No.1 David Wagner gained a 6-1, 6-1 win over Antony Cotterill.
However, Field and Cotterill dug deep to beat Bryan Barten and Greg Hasterok 7-5, 1-6, (11-9) after a championship tie-break in the doubles rubber. After a ret day on Thursday, the Great Britain quad team play Canada for seventh place.
Jordanne Whiley by Mathilde Dusol
22/05/13
Great Britain got off to a confident start in the women’s World Group on the second day of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Turkey, with Lucy Shuker, Jordanne Whiley and Louise Hunt all playing a part in a 3-0 win over Chile.
Whiley got Great Britain underway, beating Macarena Cabrillana 7-5, 6-2 before Shuker put the tie beyond doubt with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Francisca Mardones. Hunt and Shuker then combined to beat Isabel Aguirre and Mardones 6-1, 6-4 in the doubles rubber.
The GB women’s team, third seed in Antalya, now face Spain on Wednesday to decide which team finishes top of round-robin Group C to advance to the semi-finals.
“It was an ideal start for us and great that we could also get wins under our belts to give us confidence for the rest of the week,” said Shuker. “Hopefully we can put in an equally good performance against Spain to give ourselves the change of playing for a medal.”
Great Britain’s junior team face a crucial contest on Wednesday against the USA, the team that beat Britain in last year’s semi-finals, to stand the chance of reaching the semi-finals again this year after a narrow 2-1 loss to Spain.
After winning her first every wheelchair tennis match on the opening day of competition, Luz Esperanza Merry found the going tough against Martin de la Puente, with the Spaniard winning the opening singles rubber 6-0, 6-0.
Alfie Hewett lived up to his position as world No. 1 ranked junior when defeating Felix Garcia 6-3, 6-2. With the tie in the balance Lauren Jones partnered Hewett for the crucial doubles rubber, which came down to a deciding match tie-break. Hewett and Jones earned themselves three match points, but were unable to convert them and de la Puente and Garcia went on claim a 6-7(3), 6-4 (12-10) victory, leaving Great Britain with one win and won loss after two days of the junior event.
Great Britain’s quad team will play-off for fifth to eighth places after being defeated by Italy. With Jamie Burdekin unable to contest the singles rubbers Adam Field went up against Marco Innocenti, with the Italian taking the opening singles match 6-0, 7-5.
Antony Cotterill made a gallant attempt at keeping Great Britain’s hopes alive in the tie when taking Giuseppe Polidori to three sets, but Polidori came from a set down to prevail 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-3. With Italy having won both singles rubbers, Polidori and Antonio Raffaele led the doubles rubber 6-4, 3-2 when Cotterill and Field retired. Great Britain now face the USA, the top seeds for the quad event.
Wednesday’s third day of play seed Gordon Reid, McCarroll and David Phillipson begin Great Britain’s challenge in the men’s World Group. The fourth seeds will face Korea Republic in the first of two-round-robin group ties.
Luz Esperanza Merry by Mathilde Dusol
21/05/13
It was a mixed first day for Great Britain on the first day of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup, with the GB junior team beating Tanzania in the first of three round-robin group ties, while the GB quad team was edged out by South Africa in the opening round of quad event ties.
Twelve year-old Luz Esperanza Merry won her first ever wheelchair tennis match when she defeated Tanazania’s Mohamed Juma 6-1, 6-0 before world No. 1 ranked junior Alfie Hewett eased past Novatus Emmanuel Temba 6-0, 6-0 to ensure victory.
Hewett and Merry then paired up to beat Juma and Temba 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles runner to complete a 3-0 victory for top seeds Great Britain.
“I’m very happy to have won my first match as a wheelchair tennis player whilst representing my country,” said Merry, a former multi-title winning non-disabled junior player before contracting a hip infection last year. It was great playing with Alfie in the doubles and being able to play with a more experience player.”
Great Britain face Spain on Tuesday in their second round-robin tie in the junior event.
The Great Britain quad team go into Tuesday’s second day of play taking on Italy in the second of three round-robin ties after a 2-1 loss to South Africa on Monday’s first day of play.
Antony Cotterill got GB off to a winning start, beating Steven Kekai 6-1, 6-0, but South Africa’s world No. 5 Lucas Sithole edged out world No. 7 Jamie Burdekin 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 to level the contest
Burdekin and Cotterill had four set points in the first set tie-break in the deciding doubles rubber, but South African eventually took the rubber 7-6(6), 3-6, (10-8) victory to clinch the tie.
Great Britain’s women’s team start their campaign on Tuesday’s second day of play, the third seeds playing Chile in the first of two round-robin group ties. The GB men’s team will begin their campaign on Wednesday.
GB won a bronze medal in the women's event in 2012
16/05/13
Geraint Richards, the Tennis Foundation's Head of Disability Player Performance, has announced his players selected to represent Great Britain in the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Antalya, Turkey from 20 – 26 May.
Great Britain will be competing in the highest tiers across the competition with the squad including eight of the ten players selected to represent ParalympicsGB at London 2012.
The teams will be:
Men's World Group 1 – captained by Karen Ross
• Gordon Reid
• Marc McCarroll
• David Phillipson
Women's World Group – captained by Katie O'Brien
• Lucy Shuker
• Jordanne Whiley
• Louise Hunt
Quad Event – captained by Stuart Wilkinson
• Jamie Burdekin
• Antony Cotterill
• Adam Field
Junior Event – captained by Ash Smith
• Alfie Hewett
• Lauren Jones
• Luz Esperanza Merry
Great Britain won three medals at the 2012 BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Seoul, Korea.
Geraint Richards commented, "Last year was a memorable season for British wheelchair tennis and after winning a silver medal in the quad event and bronze medals in the women's and junior events at the World Team Cup our players went on to win two medals at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
"We have selected our strongest team again this year and I am confident we will be challenging for more medals in Antalya."
Find out more about the BNP Paribas World Team Cup here (link opens in new window).