Gordon Reid showed a brilliant performance on Sunday and defeated the top seed and number 3 in the world, Gustavo Fernandez, 6: 2, 6: 2 and won his first individual wheelchair title at the Cinch Championships at Queen’s Club in London.
A pioneering three-day lawn wheelchair tennis later ended with a second British champion after Jordanne Whiley teamed up with Japanese Yui Kamiji to win the women’s double title at the Viking Classic Birmingham, with Kamiji, the top seeder, for the first time the single crown also won the claimed women’s wheelchair grass court ranking tournament outside of Wimbledon.
Reid, the runner-up to his fellow British compatriot Alfie Hewett in 2019, clinched his second singles title in 2021 when the 2016 Wimbledon champion defeated 2019 Argentine Wimbledon champion Fernandez in an hour and 18 minutes. World victorious number 6 Reid said, “It’s a great feeling. Tactically, I got to the point today and implemented the game plan quite convincingly.
“I’ve served pretty consistently and came back in the right place. I like to cut my backhand, it gets more effective on the grass and does a lot of damage. This is a recording that worked really well today. ”
Reid won the last four games of the first set and secured the early break in the second set before completing a clinical performance with a deep cross-court backhand that Fernandez could not return with accuracy.
“Just being here on the site and seeing the boards with all of the title winners over the years and there are some iconic names that go back a long way. So it’s great that the wheelchair event is here and we’re part of a great event with so much history, ”he said.
“It’s amazing that my name is now on the boards as one of the winners.”
Fernandez also finished second in men’s doubles and was partner of Dutchman Tom Egberink after Belgian Joachim Gerard and Swede Stefan Olsson, the 2019 champions at both The Queen’s Club and Wimbledon, recovered to take the titles in a row get exciting encounters 1-6, 6-7 (4), (10-6) after a decisive match tie-break.
There was another pulsating conclusion to the historic final in the women’s singles in Birmingham, when world number 2 Kamiji saved match points in a tie-break of the last set against number 3 in the world rankings and 2019 Wimbledon champion Aniek van Koot from the Netherlands and prevailed 6: 1. 1-6, 7-6 (6).
Kamiji, who beat Whiley 7-5 in the last set of the semi-finals on Saturday, said: “It was very tough and she (Van Koot) is a very good slicer so it was very difficult to get the points.
“I’ve tried a lot of things so I’m happy with my performance today and of course it’s a good stepping stone to Wimbledon.
“In the doubles final, Jordanne reminded me that we only lost together twice on grass. It’s very nice to play with her all the time, but especially on grass and in her home town. ”
Whiley and Kamiji, who were born in Birmingham, jointly won their 22nd double title in their careers when the eleven-time Grand Slam winner defeated Montjane and van Koot 6: 3, 6: 3.
“I’ve never played a tournament in Birmingham so it’s nice to be back home and hear the accent,” she said.
“I feel like this is really good preparation for Wimbledon. I feel like I didn’t play that well today, if I’m honest, but it’s a huge confidence boost because we got the win.
“I also fought well in the singles, because a few weeks ago at Roland Garros I lost 6: 1, 6: 2 to Yui. So it’s a big confidence booster and I’m just looking forward to Wimbledon now. ”
