Burderop’s Catherine Fletcher made it two wins in two days at the 22nd Summer Deaflympics after partnering Surrey’s Bethany Brookes today to reach the women’s doubles quarter-finals.
Fletcher and Brookes, the 2012 European Deaf Tennis Championships silver medallists, beat India’s Nishtha Dudeja and Shilipi Jaiswal 6-0, 6-2 in their opening match.
They will now play Italian fourth seeds Barbara Oddone, the multiple women’s singles Deaflympic gold medallist, and Susanna Ricci Bitti, who won the women’s doubles bronze medal together at the 2009 Deaflympics in Taipiei.
“We’re very happy with the start we’ve made today,” said Fletcher. “We played really well for most of the match and it gives us a good foundation to now build on for the quarter-finals.”
Catherine Fletcher and her husband Lewis are among five players selected by the Tennis Foundation to be members of the Great Britain squad of athletes for the 22nd Summer Deaflympics in Sofia. Play continues until 3 August, with medal matches taking place on Friday, 2 August and Saturday, 3 August.