Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid equalled the overall record for Grand Slam doubles titles won by any one partnership on Saturday as they clinched their fifth successive French Open wheelchair doubles title and 20th Grand Slam title together following a 6-1 6-4 victory over Japanese second seeds Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda.
“It wasn’t something I was aware of going into the match, but obviously to hear it afterwards, it’s certainly a proud moment for us as a partnership, and everyone that’s helped us get there. Alfie Hewett
With Hewett and Reid playing their Japanese opponents for the third time in four Grand Slam finals, the defending champions secured an immediate break of serve to earn a two-game cushion before winning seven of the last eight points as Reid served out to love and then forced Miki into the error that sealed the opening set after 26 minutes.
Miki’s service game also provided the British pairing with the opening they needed in the second set as they broke the Japanese No.3 to love to make it 4-2. Four games later Hewett then hit a clean cross court forehand winner off the Miki serve on the first of two match points to take him and Reid to 49 career doubles titles as a partnership.
Reflecting on a record of 20 Grand Slam doubles titles that they now share with the USA’s Althea Louise Brough and Margaret Evelyn Du Pont, as well as with Martina Navratilova, Hewett said:
“It wasn’t something I was aware of going into the match, but obviously to hear it afterwards, it’s certainly a proud moment for us as a partnership, and everyone that’s helped us get there. I don’t think we would have thought that we would be sitting here with 20 Grand Slams (when we started). It’s fun to get out there and play with Gordon. The success is just getting more and more enjoyable every single time.”
Looking ahead to the Paris Paralympic Tennis Event, which is also being held at Roland Garros later in the year, Reid added: “it’s exciting to do well here this week, obviously leading into a couple months’ time (at the Paralympics). Now we can enjoy it and look forward a little bit farther. Obviously, there are a few more big events coming up on grass we need to deal with first.”
(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
However, it was not to be for Andy Lapthorne in the quad doubles final as he sought to make it three French Open titles with three different doubles partners. Lapthorne and Guy Sasson were unable to build on 3-1 and 5-3 leads in a first set tie-break, eventually finishing runners-up to Dutch top seeds Sam Schroder and Niels Vink 7-6(9) 6-1.
Hewett, Reid and Lapthorne are among eight British wheelchair players and 26 world top 10 ranked players across men’s, women’s and quad draws that have been announced this week among the entries for the Lexus British Open Roehampton, the LTA’s premier annual standalone international wheelchair tennis tournament that is now an integral part of the British summer grass court season.
