GORDON Reid fell at the final hurdle for the fourth successive year in the Wimbledon wheelchair doubles when he and his French partner Michael Jeremiasz went down 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 to Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer.
The 23-year-old from Helensburgh - who landed his maiden major title in the doubles at Roland Garros with Japan's Shingo Kunieda last month - and Jeremiasz had saved a match a point in their semi-final to end up here, and held hopes of another feat of escapology when they prolonged matters into a deciding set. Ultimately it wasn't to be, but on the day that the All England Club fell into line with the rest of the tennis majors and announced that wheelchair singles will be introduced to their itinerary from 2016, Reid still feels encouraged enough with his recent performances to target a pair of medals from the Paralympics in Rio next year.
"It is disappointing to come so close and not take the title," said Reid, a promising able-bodied tennis player and footballer before he was struck down with a rare spinal condition a week before his 13th birthday. "It was a tough, close match. We definitely did not play our best tennis, but we had our chances, especially at the start of the match, and that is the most frustrating thing. When we went from 5-1 to 5-2, I thought the great comeback could be back on again. But you can't win them all. I bumped into Andy [Murray] on Thursday and he wished me good luck. I think he follows my results now so it is nice to have that respect and support from such an incredible player and a great guy.
"I will play singles as well in Rio and ending up with two medals is the goal," added Reid, who is likely to play with Alfie Hewett in the Olympics in Brazil. "I made quarters in singles and doubles in London and I have a few more years of experience under my belt now. I have been in bigger situations and won a Grand Slam since then. I have been in a few finals as well so I am definitely a better player now and I have still got more than a year to keep improving before Rio. It is not very often you get the chance to go out there and wear a GB shirt so I will try to make the most of it."
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