Cajun Classic 2023: Results & updates

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid made it five finals from five tournaments this season as they reached their second Cajun Classic title decider with a 7-6(4), 6-3 semi-final victory over the third seeds, Joachim Gerard of Belgium and Dutchman Ruben Spaargaren.

While heavy rain delayed the start of the fourth day of play by six hours, second seeds Hewett and Reid, the 2019 runners-up in Baton Rouge, made it 12 wins in 12 completed matches in 2023 as they booked their place in Saturday’s final against top seeds and defending champions Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez.

Currently unbeaten in four previous matches against De la Puente and Fernandez, Hewett and Reid beat the Spanish-Argentinian duo in last month’s ABN AMRO Open final in Rotterdam.

Elsewhere, Andy Lapthorne and David Wagner saw their quad doubles title defence come to an end in the semi-finals after bowing out 6-1, 6-4 against second seeds Heath Davidson of Australia and Robert Shaw of Canada, the same duo that Lapthorne and Wagner beat in last year’s final.

Meanwhile, Lucy Shuker and Dana Mathewson’s bid to follow up last week’s victory at the Georgia Open also ended in a semi-final loss in Baton Rouge as Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot advanced to the women’s doubles final 6-2, 6-2.

Gordon Reid made it back-to-back wins over seeded opponents to move into the men’s singles semi-finals as Brits also maintained title hopes in men’s, women’s and quad doubles on the third day of the Cajun Classic.

Reid, who started this week’s Super Series event back inside the world’s top 10 for the first time since last September, produced another confident performance to beat Japanese eighth seed Takashi Sanada 6-1, 6-3. The 2014 men’s singles champion in Baton Rouge, Reid will now plays Japan’s world No.2 Tokito Oda in the semi-finals.

Alfie Hewett’s Cajun Classic title defence came to an end against Dutch sixth seed Ruben Spaargaren. Having built up a 16-match win streak since losing out to Spaargaren in the quarter-finals of January’s Victorian Open, Hewett lost another tight contest against the world No.7 4-6, 7-5, 7-6.

However, Hewett and Reid continued their winning form in men’s doubles, progressing to the semi-finals in Baton Rouge after defeating Chilean duo Alexander Cataldo and Brayan Tapia 6-0, 6-1 to set up a last four meeting with Spaargaren and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard, the third seeds.

Providing they beat Spaargaren and Gerard, second seeds Hewett and Reid could go on to play top seeds Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez in the final after the Spanish-Argentinian duo ended Ben Bartram and Casey Ratzlaff’s doubles campaign 6-2, 6-3.

Meanwhile, Lucy Shuker and Dana Mathewson opened their bid to follow up last week’s Georgia Open women’s doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory over the USA’s Shelby Baron and Japan’s Manami Tanaka 6-3, 6-4. Third seeds Shuker and Mathewson will now play Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot for a place in the final.

But Cornelia Oosthuizen’s women’s doubles campaign came to an early end against the second seeds. Oosthuizen and her Swiss partner Nalani Buob lost out to Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana and South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane 6-4, 6-1.

Andy Lapthorne and the USA’s David Wagner began their Cajun Classic quad doubles title defence with a deciding match tie-break, ultimately coming through to beat American Bryan Barten and Japan’s Koji Sugeno 6-3, 5-7, 10-1. Third seeds Lapthorne and Wagner will now play second seeds Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw for a place in the final.

However, Lapthorne’s quest for a second Cajun Classic quad singles title ended in the quarter-finals against Wagner, with Lapthorne forced to retire when trailing 6-2, 1-0.

Gordon Reid joined Alfie Hewett in the men’s singles quarter-finals on the second day of play in Baton Rouge as Andy Lapthorne also advanced to the quad singles quarter-finals.

Reid’s first match against world No.4 Joachim Gerard since the 2021 British Open and just his second match since returning to the world’s top 10 this week saw the British No.2 defeat the Belgian 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 to set up a last eight contest against Japanese eight seed Takashi Sanada. Hopes of an all-British quarter-final ended with Sanada beating Ben Bartram 6-4, 6-1.

World No.1 Hewett opened his Cajun Classic title defence with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Chile’s Brayan Tapia, earning the Hewett a quarter-final against Dutch world No.7 Ruben Spaargaren, who is the only player to have beaten Hewett so far this season in 18 matches.

Eleven years on from his only Cajun Classic quad singles title to date Lapthorne began his 2023 challenge with a 6-1, 6-1 win over American Bryan Barten. Fifth seed Lapthorne will now play American fourth seed David Wagner for a place in the semi-finals.

However, Greg Slade’s hopes of making a winning Cajun Classic debut ended in a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Canadian sixth seed Robert Shaw.

British hopes ended early in the women’s singles as Lucy Shuker lost out to American Shelby Baron 7-6(8), 6-3, while British No.2 Cornelia Oosthuizen was beaten by Dutch second seed Aniek van Koot 6-1, 6-0.

There was mixed success for the Brits as doubles campaigns began, with Bartram partnering American Casey Ratzlaff to the men’s doubles quarter-finals. Bartram and Ratzlaff beat the North American partnership of Jason Keatseangsilp and Canada’s Thomas Venos to earn a last eight meeting with defending champions and top seeds Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez.

However, Slade and his Israeli partner Elay Chayot made an early exit in the quad doubles, beaten 7-5, 6-1 by Mexico’s Jose Arriaga and American Andrew Bogdanov. 

Hewett and Reid, Lapthorne and Wagner, and Shuker and Oosthuizen all begin their respective doubles challenges on Thursday’s third day of play in Baton Rouge.

Gordon Reid, Ben Bartram and Cornelia Oosthuizen made it three wins from three matches for British players on the opening day of the Cajun Classic 2023.

Reid and Bartram joined top seed and defending champion Alfie Hewett in the second round of the men’s singles for the loss of just one game apiece against American opponents as 2014 champion Reid beat Conner Stroud 6-0, 6-1 and Bartram marked his Cajun Classic debut with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Nathan Hunter.

While Reid now plays Belgian fourth seed Joachim Gerard and Bartram comes up against Japanese eighth seed Takashi Sanada, Hewett opens his title defence against Chile’s Brayan Tapia.

Oosthuizen went one better than in 2022 when she also came through her first round women’s singles match in straight sets, beat Colombia’s Johana Martinez 6-3, 6-1 to book a meeting with Dutch second seed Aniek van Koot.

Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade begin their quad singles challenges on Wednesday’s second day of play when Lapthorne plays Bryan Barten of the USA and Slade faces Canadian sixth seed Robert Shaw.

Bartram will also begin his men’s doubles campaign partnering American Casey Ratzlaff, while Slade partners Israel’s Elay Chayot in a bid to reach the quad doubles quarter-finals.