Reid starts 2024 with title, Norrie reaches last 16, Juniors progress and Stewart in final
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The latest results and updates of Scots competing in Australia and at home.
Gordon Reid wins Melbourne Wheelchair Open
Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett wasted no time in clinching a title in 2024, winning the doubles at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open ITF Super Series event.
The pair started off with a convincing 6-3 6-1 win over Alexander Cataldo of Chile and Casey Ratzlaff of the US.
Reid and Hewett then beat South Korea’s Ho Wo Im and France’s Guilhem Laget 6-3 6-2 to advance to the semi-final, where they received a walkover to the final from Japanese pair Daisuke Arai and Takashi Sanada.
They then faced second seeds Joachim Gerard and Stephane Houdet in a final which went the distance, with Reid and Hewett pulling through 6-3 1-6 10-8.
Their 45th title as a team provided the perfect preparation ahead of their Australian Open defence.
Norrie reaches Australian Open last 16
Cam Norrie reached a career milestone by reaching the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career.
After a straight-sets first round win against Juan Pablo Varillas, Norrie then had to battle back from two sets down against Giulio Zeppieri to set up a meeting with 11th-seeded Casper Ruud.
Norrie produced an impressive performance for his biggest Grand Slam win by ranking as he moved past Ruud in four sets 6-4 6-7 6-4 6-3.
He then played Olympic gold medalist Alexander Zverev for a spot in the quarter-finals and, after a contest that lasted over four hours, it was the German who edged through in a match tie-break 7-5 3-6 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-3).
Australian Open round-up
Elsewhere at the Australian Open, Stirling-based GB National Tennis Academy players Hephzibah Oluwadare and Charlie Robertson competed in the Juniors main draw.
Hephzibah came through qualifying to earn her place, taking full advantage of the opportunity as she upset the world number 14 Charo Esquiva Banuls 6-3 7-6 to progress to the second round. She plays Mia Slama of the US next.
Hephzibah also won her first-round doubles match in three sets with partner Lea Nilsson of Sweden. She plays Junior Billie Jean King Cup teammates Hannah Klugman and Mingge Xu next.
In the Boys’ draw, Charlie battled through his first round, saving a match point, to pull through against Izan Valiente 3-6 7-5 6-1.
However, it wasn’t to be in the second for Charlie as he was narrowly edged out by Jan Kumstat 7-6 6-7 3-6.
Scots are still set to compete in Melbourne this week. Aidan Moody and Anna McBride will be competing in the AO PWII Championships, which will feature the top players from around the world with a learning disability.
Hamish Stewart reaches Sunderland final
Hamish Stewart was on form at the M25 Sunderland to reach his second career pro singles final.
He started his campaign by beating Phoenix Weir in the first round 7-6 6-3. Stewart then went on to topple second seed Robert Strombachs of Germany, ranked more than 300 places higher, 6-7 6-4 6-4.
Hamish continued his form by posting a convincing win over wildcard Ben Jones in the quarter-finals 6-2 6-2. He then came through another three-set contest against Italian Macello Serfani, recovering from a set down to win 1-6 6-3 6-3.
The final saw Hamish play 2018 Australian Open semi-finalist Kyle Edmund. The championship match was decided in the third set, with Edmund edging through 7-5 3-6 6-3 to take the title.
