Shingo Kunieda and Aniek van Koot were crowned men’s and women’s singles champions for the third and first times respectively as the 2014 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters came to a spectacular end on Sunday at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, with Brits Gordon Reid and Jordanne Whiley earning personal best third place finishes.

There was more than an air of symmetry about Kunieda’s 6-1, 6-1 victory over French world No. 7 Nicolas Peifer in the men’s final as the two-time defending champion dropped just the fourth game in both sets, winning each set in 32 minutes.    

“I am very happy to defend my Masters title and to win three years in a row. I prayed that I would play well today so I am very satisfied with this result,” said Kunieda. “I am always looking to improve myself and to play better and better tennis. I knew that it would be a hard game against Nicolas today but I knew if I played well enough I would be able to win.

“The crowd today were really good, there were a lot of Japanese fans and I hope that wheelchair tennis is getting more popular in the UK and next year even more people will come to watch,” added the world No. 1, who claimed his first NEC Masters title in Belgium in November 2012 in his first tournament after becoming the first player to win back-to-back Paralympic men’s singles gold medals when he triumphed at London 2012.

Kunieda’s return to the site of the London 2012 Paralympic Tennis Event in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park saw the 30-year-old win his third NEC Masters title having dropped no more than three games in any of his sets of tennis across five matches in five days of intense competition.

Van Koot claimed her first NEC Masters title in three finals, recording a 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory over fellow Dutchwoman Jiske Griffioen to avenge her loss to Griffioen in the 2012 final in Belgium and also in their round-robin pool match earlier this week in London.

World No. 2 Griffioen had beaten van Koot 6-3, 6-1 in their pool match, but after coming back from three match points down to win her semi-final against Britain’s Jordanne Whiley, van Koot dug deep again to claim victory.

“I can’t believe it! Jiske beat me comfortably this week in the round robin by big scores so I wasn’t expecting this at all, I’m over the moon,” said van Koot.

“Yesterday I gave it my all and it led me to victory and I learnt from that match just to enjoy it and to keep smiling because when I smile I start to giggle and start to relax, and when I’m relaxed I can play my best tennis.”

“It’s been a bit strange being back – to see the stadium, the tennis venue and the orbit, it brings back such good memories with my family and with my whole team. It’s phenomenal to be here. I’ve had a really good time here and it’s a great place for me,” added van Koot, who won the women’s singles silver medal at the London 2012 Paralympics at the same venue.

British No. 1 and world No. 3 Gordon Reid completed his campaign with a personal best performance in the men’s singles after finishing third. Reid, who reached the semi-finals for the first time after making his NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters debut in 2012, beat Dutch world No. 6 and 2009 Masters champion Maikel Scheffers 6-0, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Whiley also finished third in the women’s singles after securing her second win of the week over Japan’s world No. 1 Yui Kamiji, the 2013 NEC Masters champion. Whiley beat Kamiji 6-3, 6-3.