Bingham’s David Phillipson is looking forward to starting his 2014 season on home soil after finishing runner-up in both the men’s singles and men’s doubles at the British Wheelchair Tennis Championships to bring his 2013 campaign to a close.
Just a few weeks after beating world No. 7 Michael Jeremiasz of France at the Nottingham Indoor, the final world ranking event of the year to be held in Britain, two-time Paralympian Phillipson earned another fine victory in the men’s singles semi-finals at the British Championships when he outlasted current British No. 2 Marc McCarroll at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton, London.
The British No. 3, who had opened his tournament with a 6-0, 6-0 win over Shropshire’s Scott Smith following a bye into the quarter-finals, beat McCarroll 6-3, 6-4, but then halted his bid for a second National title after an arm strain meant he was unable to play the final against British No. 1 Gordon Reid.
“I felt it quite a bit during my match against Marc, but I was up and doing well, so kept on playing and was very pleased with the result,” said world No. 20 Phillipson who added to the 6-1 winning head-to-head record he has against McCarroll on the international tour.
“Unfortunately, after a night’s rest, my arm was too tight to allow me to play the singles or doubles finals, but the physio reports are good and I’ll be back training before Christmas and the New Year ahead of making my seasonal debut for 2014 in Bolton.”
The Bolton Arena Indoor, an ITF 2 Series event in mid-February, is one of nine British world ranking events in 2014 either organised by or supported by the Tennis Foundation, including the two highest status tournaments that are held at Nottingham Tennis Centre, July’s ITF Super Series British Open and November’s ITF 1 Series Nottingham Indoor.
“I’ve had a great end to this year, beating Michael on home soil in Nottingham and beating Marc at the British Championships, so I’m very excited for next season and can’t wait to get back in to action to hopefully build on the success I’ve enjoyed in recent weeks,” added Phillipson, who is set to finish 2013 with a men’s singles ranking inside the world’s top 20 for the third time in the last four years.