SCOTLAND’s Gordon Reid and his doubles partner Alfie Hewett put their disappointments in the singles competition behind them to book a re-run of last year’s Wimbledon wheelchair doubles final. Reid, the singles No 1 and defending champion, went down to Stefan Olsson of Sweden in the quarter finals while Hewett lost out to Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina in the semis, but they got the better of Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 scoreline to book a final against French pairing Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer, who they overcame to take this title 12 months ago.
It is a sign of the growing interest in the wheelchair version of the sport that it will be played on Court No 3, where a couple of thousand spectators can cram themselves in. “I think Court 3 was always the plan, especially if we had British interest in the final,” said Reid. “There was a great crowd out there today and now there is an even better chance to get an even bigger crowd involved. This has been the rivalry for the last two years, and most of the time they have had the better of us. But when we play our best and they play their best we are the better team I think. We showed that last year in the final. We don’t need any more inspiration than a Wimbledon final..”
Reid said the secret of their success was the fact they get on so well. “Alfie has got an obsession with my hair,” he said. “He is constantly asking whose hair is better and getting the wrong answer! We have good banter about our football teams and basketball as well. It feels we are playing as a team not individuals. It can be the difference.”
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