10/11/2014
Jordanne Whiley and her Japanese partner Yui Kamiji added one more major wheelchair tennis title to their sweep of all four Grand Slam crowns this season when they successfully retained their women’s title on Sunday night at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Viejo, California.
Gordon Reid and Michael Jeremiasz of France were runners-up in the men’s doubles as British players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme finished the prestigious event with one title and three runners-up positions between them after Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne were also runners-up in the quad doubles on Saturday.
Whiley became the first British wheelchair tennis player in history to complete a calendar year Grand Slam in September this year when she and Kamiji added the US Open women’s doubles title to their Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles. The British No. 1 and Kamiji are now the first non-Dutch pairing to win all four Grand Slams and the Doubles Masters title in the same season.
With two British players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme in Sunday’s final, Whiley and Kamiji were in fine form against Louise Hunt and Germany’s Katharina Kruger, earning a 6-2, 6-1 victory. Whiley was the only player not to drop her serve in the first set and she went on to serve out the match in the second set, with Kamiji hitting a cross court backhand winner on match point.
“After winning all four Grand Slams this year this was a big one for us, but we wanted to make sure we ended on a high and we want to replicate it next year,” said Whiley. “We are absolutely thrilled and we will play together again at the Grand Slams in 2015. We are still learning and improving, but for now we are both looking forward to playing at the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in a couple of weeks, where we can hopefully translate our doubles success into singles success.”
With Reid in his second successive Doubles Masters final on Sunday, he and Jeremiasz kept pace with top seeds and Roland Garros champions Joachim Gerard and Stephane Houdet for the first eight games of the final. However, the British No.1, who was named Tennis Scotland’s International Player of the year for 2014 last week, and Jeremiasz eventually slipped to a 6-4, 6-1 loss.
“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose in any major final, but after winning the title with Stephane last year I know that he and Jo are having a brilliant season and they were just too good for us on the day. We have lived up to our seeding and continued our record of reaching the final of every tournament we have played. I’m looking forward to preparing for the Nottingham Indoors and the NEC Masters now on home soil.”
After nine Brits qualified for the 2014 Doubles Masters, the event ended with Lucy Shuker and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock also finishing fourth in the women’s doubles, while Antony Cotterill and the USA’s Greg Hasterok were third in the quad doubles. Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson finished sixth in the men’s doubles.
9/11/2014 (Photo Credits: Steve Wylie)
Louise Hunt, Jordanne Whiley and Gordon Reid secured their places in Sunday’s women’s and men’s doubles finals on Saturday’s penultimate day of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Viejo, California, as Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne finished runners-up in the quad doubles final.
A British winner at the prestigious event is guaranteed again this year, with Hunt and Whiley set to be on opposite sides of the net in the women’s doubles final.
In 2013 Whiley and Reid clinched victory with their respective partners in the women’s and men’s doubles.
Perhaps the most remarkable of Saturday’s semi-final wins belonged to British No. 3 Hunt and her German partner Katharina Kruger, who beat Dutch third seeds Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(6) after saving three match points in a contest lasting three and three quarter hours.
Fourth seeds Hunt and Kruger came back from 5-2 down in the final set of their semi to beat Buis and Spaanstra and guarantee that there will be two British players on both sides of the net in the women’s final.
“I'm so proud of us as a pair, we fought really hard and it’s definitely the best we've ever played. We are super excited for tomorrow,” said Hunt.
With one British finalist in the women’s doubles already guaranteed, Lucy Shuker and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock came back from 5-3 down to force a first set tie-break in their semi-final, but could win just the fourth game in the second set as Whiley and Japan’s Kamiji advanced 7-6(4), 6-1 to move one match away from what would be a successful Doubles Maters title defence for the winners of all four of this year’s Grand Slams.
“I was struggling with my forehand to start with, but Yui got us through until I relaxed and found my confidence. It wasn’t my best performance today, but we make a great team and after our amazing year at the Slams, hopefully there’s another big win to come. It’s great to have two Brits in the final,” said Whiley.
Reid and Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz eased though the opening set of their men’s doubles semi-final against Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and South Africa’s Evans Maripa and built on a 3-0 lead in the deciding set to close out a 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 victory that earns them a final against top seeds Stephane Houdet of France and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard, this year’s Roland Garros champion.
“We’re very happy to be in the final after a tough semi-final today and we’ve kept up our record of reaching the final of every tournament we’ve played together,” said Reid. “However, we’re not planning on stopping there and after winning my first Doubles Masters title with Stephane last year, it’s going to be a tough final, but we will be all out to win.”
Burdekin and Lapthorne came from 2-0 down to level the opening set of the quad doubles final against American top seeds and defending champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner and got to within a point of doing the same from 5-2 down before Taylor and Wagner took the set.
The Brits hit back to open up 5-2 second set lead of their own en route to forcing the decider, in which they again came from 2-0 down to level the contest at 2-2. However, Taylor and Wagner earned another break to prevail 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
With nine Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme having qualified for this year’s Doubles Masters, Antony Cotterill and his American partner Greg Hasterok finished third in the quad doubles after defeating the American-Italian partnership of David Buck and Antonio Raffaele 6-4, 4-6, 6-2
Meanwhile, Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson finished sixth in the men’s doubles after a closely fought play-off against Tom Egberink and Maikel Scheffers that the Dutch duo won 7-5, 6-3.
8/11/2014
Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne will play American top seeds and defending champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the quad doubles final at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Viejo, California.
Four other Brits will feature in Saturday’s men’s and women’s semi-finals, with Gordon Reid and Jordanne Whiley remaining on course in their bids to retain the titles they won in 2013. Lucy Shuker and Louise Hunt join Whiley in the last four of the women’s doubles after the completion of the round-robin phase of the competition on Friday, guaranteeing that there will be at least one Brit in Sunday’s women’s doubles final.
With a record nine Brits on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme qualifying for the event, Burdekin and Lapthorne recovered from a 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-3 loss to Taylor and Wagner in their opening round-robin match to beat the American-Italian partnership of David Buck and Antonio Raffaele. They then defeated fellow Brit Antony Cotterill and his American partner Greg Hasterok 6-4, 6-2 in Friday’s decisive match to finish second in the round-robin.
Earlier this year Burdekin and Lapthorne beat the three-time Paralympic gold medallists in a championship tie-break in the quad final at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in the Netherlands as Great Britain lifted the title.
“We had the toughest start with our first round-robin match and weren’t that far away, so with two more sold performances under our belts we’re pleased to get the chance to play the American top seeds again in the final. We’ve beaten them once this year and hopefully we can pull it off again,” said Lapthorne.
Shuker and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock, the second seeds, will meet Whiley and her Japanese Grand Slam-winning partner Yui Kamiji in the women’s doubles semi-finals after Shuker and Ellerbrock won both of their round-robin matches for the loss of just three games. Top seeds Whiley and Kamiji finished runners-up in their pool after being edged out in their second match of the week, a four-hour marathon against Dutch duo Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra, 3-6 7-6(7), 7-6(5).
“After two very good performances so far, we’re in good shape going into the semi-finals against Jordanne and Yui. We know it’s likely to be a very tough contest, but we’re taking plenty of confidence into the match and it’s great to have three Brits in the semis,” said Shuker.
British No. 3 Hunt and Germany’s Katharina Kruger defeated Chile’s Francisca Mardones and American Kaitlyn Verfuerth in their crucial final round-robin match on Friday to earn their place in the last four against Buis and Spaanstra.
Reid, who won his maiden Doubles Masters title in 2013 partnering Frenchman Stephane Houdet, could yet meet Houdet in this year’s final after partnering another Frenchman, Michael Jeremiasz, to top their round-robin pool this year. Second seeds Reid and Jeremiasz go into Saturday’s semi-final against Shingo Kunieda and Evans Maripa on the back of a 6-2, 6-3 win over Americans Steve Baldwin and Stephen Welch, having beaten Roland Garros runners-up Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer in their second pool match.
Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson, who were drawn in the same pool as Reid and Jeremiasz, will play Dutch duo Tom Egberink and Maikel Scheffers for fifth place after also beating Baldwin and Welch this week.
“It's been a good week so far. We've been gelling well as a team and enjoying our time on court. We're feeling confident ahead of the semi so hopefully we can produce another good performance to take us into the final,” said Reid, who has reached the finals of all five previous tournaments he has played with Jeremiasz.
7/11/2014
Gordon Reid and Lucy Shuker and their partners guaranteed their places in the men’s and women’s doubles semi-finals on the second day of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters.
Second seeds Reid and Michael Jeremiasz beat Roland Garros runners-up Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 in the last match of the day. Reid and Jeremiasz overcame their Argentinean and French opponents to remain unbeaten at the top of men’s doubles Pool 2 heading into their final round-robin match against American duo Steve Baldwin and Stephen Welch.
Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson earned their first win of the week against Baldwin and Welch 6-3, 6-3 and will now play Fernandez and Peifer to decide who advances from Pool 2 to the semi-finals alongside Reid and Jeremiasz.
Shuker and Sabine Ellerbrock finished their two Pool 2 women’s doubles matches unbeaten after defeating the other British-German partnership in their pool, Louise Hunt and Katharina Kruger, 6-3, 6-0. Hunt and Kruger can still join Shuker and Ellerbrock in the semi-finals if they beat American Chile’s Francisca Mardones and American Kaitlyn Verfuerth in their final pool match.
After winning their opening match, defending champions Jordanne Whiley and Yui Kamiji were beaten by Dutch duo Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5) after a four hour marathon on the second day of play. With Whiley and Kamiji having now finished their round-robin matches, the remaining Pool 1 match between Buis and Spaanstra and Emmy Kaiser and Johana Martinez will decide which two teams advance to the semi-finals.
After their opening three set loss to American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner, Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne clinched their first quad doubles win of the week when defeating American David Buck and Italy’s Antonio Raffaele 6-1, 6-2. After a promising first set, Antony Cotterill and his American partner Greg Hasterok slipped to a 7-5, 6-0 loss to Taylor and Wagner and will now play Burdekin and Lapthorne to decide which partnership joins the currently unbeaten pairing of Taylor and Wagner in Saturday’s quad doubles final.
06/11/2014
Jordanne Whiley, Lucy Shuker, Gordon Reid, and Antony Cotterill all got their Doubles Masters campaigns off to winning starts on the first day of play, with tops seeds Whiley and Kamiji opening their women’s doubles title defence with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over the USA’s Emmy Kaiser and Colombia’s Johana Martinez. Whiley and Kamiji face Dutch duo Marjolein Buis and Michaela Spaanstra in their second Pool 1 match.
Shuker and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock swept past Chile’s Francisca Mardones and American Kaitlyn Verfuerth 6-1 6-2 to top Pool 2 after the first day’s play. Shuker and British No. 3 Louise Hunt will be on opposite sides of the net on the second day of round-robin competition when Hunt and Germany’s Katharina Kruger begin their Doubles Masters challenge.
With all three Brits in the men’s doubles meeting in their opening Pool 2 contest, Reid and Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz beat Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson 6-3 6-1. Second seeds Reid and Jeremiasz now go on to play Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer of France, while McCarroll and Philllipson will aim to get their first win on the board when they face American duo Steven Baldwin and Stephen Welch.
Cotterill and his American partner Greg Hasterok made a winning start to the quad doubles, beating the USA’s David Buck and Italy’s Antonio Raffaele 6-2 6-2. They will play American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the second of their three round-robin matches after Taylor and Wagner edged out Britain’s Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne 7-6(5) 2-6 6-3. However, Cotterill, Burdekin and Lapthorne all remain in the hunt for a place in Saturday’s quad final, which will be contested by the top two partnerships after the three days of round-robin matches.
05/11/14
A record nine Brits line up for the 2014 UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters, three British players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme contesting each of the men’s doubles, women’s doubles and quad doubles at the ITF’s year-end doubles event.
Calendar year Grand Slam winners Jordanne Whiley and Japan’s Yui Kamiji will play American Emmy Kaiser and Colombia’s Johana Martinez in their first round-robin Pool 1 match in defence of the title they won in Mission Viejo in 2013. Lucy Shuker and her German partner Sabine Ellerbrock are the second seeds and face Chile’s Francisca Mardones and the USA’s Kairlyn verfuerrh in their first Pool 2 match. British No. 3 Louise Hunt and Germany’s Katharina Kruger are also among the three teams in Pool 2 alongside Shuker and Ellerbrock. Hunt and Kruger will play the first of their round-robin pool matches on the second day of play.
Gordon Reid is also defending champion in the men’s doubles and after his victory alongside Stephane Houdet in 2013, Reid partners another Frenchman this year. Reid and Michael Jeremiasz take on the al-Brit partnership of Marc McCarroll and David Phillipson in their first round-robin match. Reid and Jeremiasz and McCarroll and Phillipson are joined in Pool 2 of the men’s doubles by Roland Garros runners-up Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina and Nicolas Peifer of France and American duo Steve Baldwin and Stephen Welch. The top two seeded partnerships after the round-robin phase of the competition will advance to the semi-finals.
Wednesday’s first day of play includes a big match for the all-British partnership of Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne, who take on American top seeds and defending champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the first of their three round-robin matches. Burdekin and Lapthorne will hope that they can repeat their victory over Taylor and Wagner in the deciding doubles rubber of the final at this year’s World Team Cup to ensure Great Britain became World Team Cup quad champions.
Burdekin and Lapthorrne’s remaining two round-robin matches on Thursday and Friday will also see them meet fellow Brit Antony Cotterill and his American partner Greg Hasterok, who play American David Buck and Italy’s David Buck in Wednesday’s first set of matches. The top two quad partnerships after the round-robin phase of the competition will progress to Saturday’s final.