Tokyo 2020 Paralympics: Brits guaranteed to play for Paralympic medal
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ParalympicsGB wheelchair tennis players are guaranteed to play for two medals at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics with Jordanne Whiley & Lucy Shuker moving into the semi-finals and Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne set to play for the quad doubles bronze.
The golden slam is still on for Alfie Hewett & Gordon Reid after they cruised into the men’s doubles quarter-finals.
Shuker and Whiley’s first career doubles match against South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane and Mariska Venter saw the London 2012 and Rio 2016 bronze medallists produce a brilliant performance as they powered to a 6-2, 6-0 victory
Speaking after the match, Whiley said “We’re playing good, we’re feeling good, so all we can do is bring our best performance and what happens, happens.”
Shuker and Whiley will play Chinese partnership Ziying Wang and Zhenzhen Zhu on Wednesday for a place in the final.
A ratio of 20 winners to their opponents’ two summed up the dominance of Rio men’s doubles silver medallists Hewett and Reid as they powered past Austria’s Thomas Flax and Nico Langmann 6-0, 6-0. The 12-time Grand Slam doubles champions will now face Belgium’s Joachim Gerard and Jef Vandorpe in the quarter-finals.
Rio 2016 doubles silver medallist, Reid said: “It was a good first match for us, They made quite a lot of balls, so we got a good feel for centre court together. They were nice conditions and it was good to get out there and experience what it’s like to play on that court. I thought we performed well, we’re moving well and it’s a good starting place to develop from.”
Cotterill and Lapthorne will play Japan’s 2018 Asian Para Games gold medallists Mitsuteru Moroishi and Koji Sugeno on Wednesday in their bid for a first Paralympic quad doubles medal together after a tough semi-final that ended in a 6-0, 6-2 victory for Dutch second seeds Sam Schroder and Niels Vink.
Lapthorne, quad doubles silver medallist at London 2012 and bronze medallist in Rio 2016, said: “We lost and it’s horrible to lose in the Paralympic semis, but we’re trying to enjoy it. We’ve spent five years together travelling round and playing together, we’re trying to have fun and we’ll take that into the bronze medal match against the Japanese.
Tomorrow's matches
Men's singles - quarter final
Gordon Reid vs Gustavo Fernandez
Alfie Hewett vs
Women's doubles - semi final
Jordanne Whiley & Lucy Shuker vs Zhenzhen Zhu & Ziying Wang
Quad doubles - bronze medal match
Andy Lapthorne & Antony Cotterill vs Koji Sugeno & Mitsuteru Moroishi
Men's doubles - quarter-final
Gordon Reid & Alfie Hewett vs Joachim Gerard & Jef Vandorpe
