Melbourne Wheelchair Open 2023: Daily updates & results
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Get the latest results and updates from the British players competing at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open ITF Super Series.
Highlights:
- Alfie Hewett retained his Melbourne Open men's singles title in a 6-2, 6-2 win over Tokito Oda
- Hewett and Gordon Reid finished runners up in the men's doubles after giving a walkover
- Lucy Shuker and Dana Mathewson lost out on a place in the doubles final
- Hewett and Reid through to the doubles final
- Hewett through to his third Melbourne Open singles final in four years after 7-5, 6-1 win over Joachim Gerard
- Reid lost out on a place in the final after defeat by No.4 Tokito Oda 0-6, 6-2, 6-2
- Lucy Shuker out of the singles draw but advances to the doubles semi-final
- Andy Lapthorne bows out of the quad singles and quad doubles
- Draws & results
- Live scores
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Day five: Alfie Hewett retains the Melbourne Open men's singles title
Top seed Alfie Hewett produced a polished display of tennis as he beat world No.4 Tokito Oda 6-2, 6-2 to retain the Melbourne Open men’s singles title and complete his preparations for the Australian Open.
A sequence of seven games without reply put the world No.2 in a dominant position at a set and 3-0 up at Hume Tennis and Community Centre in Craigieburn, north of Melbourne city centre and Hewett claimed the seventh Super Series singles title of his career after setting up match point with a delicate backhand drop shot.
One final backhand winner brought a typically passionate response from the British No.1, who will now bid to add a first Australian Open singles title. Hewett said:
“I’m delighted to get the victory today. It’s the perfect way to head into the Australian Open and it was one of my cleanest performances, so I’m really happy. I’m proud of my team and their performance, too, and so I’m looking forward to next week.”
Hewett and Gordon Reid finished runners-up in the men’s doubles after giving a walkover to Belgian Joachim Gerard and Japan’s Takuya Miki and the 15-time Grand Slam champions head to Melbourne Park in a bid to make it four Australian Open men’s doubles titles in a row.
Lucy Shuker’s hopes of becoming the third Brit to reach a Melbourne Open final this year ended in the women’s double semis, fourth seeds Shuker and Dana Mathewson of the USA bowing out to second seeds Yui Kamiji and Zhenzhen Zhu 6-0, 6-2.
Recent results
Alfie Hewett kept his Melbourne Open men’s singles title defence alive during a busy fourth day for the Brits, which ended with Hewett and Gordon Reid also reaching the final of their first tournament together this year.
With the third day’s play having been lost to heavy rain, Hewett avenged last week’s Victorian Open quarter-final loss to Ruben Spaargaren after beating the Dutch world No.6 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the last eight this week. He then went on to beat Belgian Joachim Gerard 7-5, 6-1 to reach his third Melbourne Open final in four years.
Reid’s comeback from an injury-hit 2022 continued with 6-3, 6-4 quarter-final victory over Spanish fourth seed Martin de la Puente but while Reid made a fine start in his bid to make it an all-British final he ultimately lost out to Japan’s world No.4 Tokito Oda 0-6, 6-2, 6-2.
However, 15-time Grand Slam champions Hewett and Reid finished the day strongly, defeating Dutch third seeds Maikel Scheffers and Spaargaren 6-7(3), 6-1, (10-7) to set up a title decider against fourth seeds Gerard and Takuya Miki.
Lucy Shuker ended the day with a walkover into the women’s doubles semi-finals, where the British No.1 and the USA’s Dana Mathewson will face second seeds Yui Kamiji and Zhenzhen Zhu, but Shuker’s singles challenge came to an end in a 6-2, 6-2 quarter-final defeat to Japanese world No.2 Kamiji.
Kamiji and Zhu’s progress to the doubles semi-finals came at the expense of Cornelia Oosthuizen and her French partner Emmanuelle Morch. Resuming their delayed quarter-final at 4-4 in the second set, Oosthuizen and Morch eventually bowed out 6-1, 7-6(3).
Andy Lapthorne will turn his attentions to his latest Australian Open challenge after bowing out of the quad singles and quad doubles.
Having played Heath Davidson in the final of last week’s Victorian Open, Lapthorne met the world No.3 in the quarter-finals of this week’s Super Series event, Davidson winning 6-4, 6-1 before reigning Australian Open champions Lapthorne and David Wagner lost out to Davidson and Robert Canada’s Shaw 5-7, 6-4, (10-7) in the semi-finals of the doubles.
There was no play at all on the third day at the Melbourne Open Super Series as heavy rain disrupted every match on the schedule.
The tournament will now be extended by an extra day - through to Saturday 21 January - to make up for lost time.
Alfie Hewett, Gordon Reid and Lucy Shuker all reached singles quarter-finals on the second day of this week’s Super Series tournament, with top seed Hewett beginning his men’s singles title defence with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over China’s Xiao Min Feng.
Hewett goes on to face Dutchman Ruben Spaargaren in a quarter-final for the second week in a row and will hope to avenge his loss in the last eight of last week’s Victorian Open, while Reid plays Spanish fourth seed Martin de le Puente in the last eight this week after defeating sixth seed 6-3. 4-6. 6-3.
Ben Bartram moves on to his Australian Open debut next week after his Melbourne Open singles campaign came to an end with a 6-3, 6-2 loss to Victorian Open champion and third seed Joachim Gerard of Belgium.
Hewett and Reid’s first competitive match together since last September’s US Open final saw them defeat the exciting young partnership of Bartram and Tokito Oda 6-3, 6-3 to book a semi-final against Dutch third seed Spaargaren and Maikel Scheffers.
A day that included a heat delay before ending prematurely due to rain saw Shuker advance in the women’s singles after an eventful match against Japan’s Shiori Funamizu. Shuker led 3-2 in the opening set before the match was suspended due to extreme heat, but the British No.1 ultimately battled into the last eight, prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) to set up a meeting with world No.2 Yui Kamiji.
Cornelia Oosthuizen and her French partner Emmanuelle Morch were level at 4-4 in the second set of their women’s doubles quarter-final against second seeds Kamiji and Zhenzhen Zhu when rain ended the second day’s play.
Ben Bartram headlined a series of British successes in the opening round of the ITF Super Series event in Melbourne, with the 17-year-old winning both his singles and doubles matches on day one.
Meanwhile, experienced Brits Gordon Reid and Cornelia Oosthuizen both sealed important first round victories on a busy day at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open.
Rising star Bartram – who has received a wild card for his first Grand Slam main draw at the Australian Open – cruised past Japan’s Satoshi Saida 6-2, 6-0 to clinch his first Super Series singles win and set up a second round clash with third seed Joachim Gerard.
Bartram then teamed up with fellow youngster Tokita Oda to battle through a close doubles draw against Japanese team Daisuke Arai and Takahi Sanada 7-6(1), 7-6(3). In the next round they will take on British dream team and reigning Australian Open and French Open champions, Alfie Hewett and Reid.
Reid began his singles campaign in style with a 6-0, 6-0 victory over Australia’s Anderson Parker. The Brit will continue his return from injury against sixth seed Takuya Miki.
Elsewhere, Hewett will play China’s Xiao Min Feng in the second round of the men’s singles.
Oosthuizen joined British No.1 Lucy Shuker in the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles, teaming up with France’s Emmanuelle Morch to defeat Zixi Ma and Saki Takamuro 5-7, 6-3, 11-9.
However, it wasn’t to be for Oosthuizen in the singles as she was edged 7-6(4), 7-6(5) by China’s Ma.
Shuker will open her account as the seventh seed against Japan’s Shiori Funamizu.
