Cotterill, Lapthorne and Shuker net Doubles Masters titles

Cotterill and Lapthorne secured an all-British triumph in the quad doubles, while Shuker partnered Diede de Groot of the Netherlands to victory in a women’s doubles final that also featured fellow Brit Louise Hunt.

Lapthorne and Shuker will now look to try and translate their latest doubles victories into singles success when they line up for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, which begins in London later this month.

Cotterill and Lapthorne went into the tournament as quad doubles second seeds and won two of their three round-robin matches to book their place in the final.  The only loss showing on their record was to Taylor and Wagner after Lapthorne had to withdraw after the first set of the match-up between the two partnerships due to illness.

However, Cotterill and Lapthorne dug deep in the final to snatch the opening set and after taking a 3-0 lead in the decider they were never headed again, closing out a 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory.

“After a tough week it’s great to come out and finally win the Doubles Masters again,” said Lapthorne, who also won the 2010 title partnering another fellow Brit, Peter Norfolk. “I'm thrilled to have won after such a long time. Big thanks to Ant and the Tennis Foundation Team out here for looking after me this week. It’s going to be great to go back home with this title and I’ll be working hard to try and add the singles title at the NEC Masters in front of a home crowd in a few weeks.”

“This is a fantastic end to the week. I’m really pleased Andy was able to play after his sickness and he played really well. I’m delighted to get my first ever masters title under my belt,” said Cotterill after one of the biggest victories of his career.

In the women’s doubles Hunt and her American partner Dana Mathewson beat the second seeds Katharina Kruger and Michaela Spaanstra in their round-robin matches to ensure they would avoid meeting top seeds Shuker and de Groot in the semi-finals, with both Brits and their partners topping their pools.

Both partnerships won their semi-finals in straight sets as Shuker reached her fourth Doubles Masters final and Hunt her second final in three years. After splitting two close sets in the final, the deciding set saw the momentum shift both ways, Hunt and Mathewson stringing together four games in a row to lead 4-2.  However, Shuker and de Groot edged the last four games to wrap up 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory.

“I’m very proud to have claimed my first Doubles Masters title alongside Diede. It’s been an absolute pleasure playing with her here and I feel our styles complement each other extremely well so I look forward to partnering her again in a couple of weeks’ time at Bath Indoors, where I’ll continue my build up to the NEC Masters,” said Shuker.

I’m incredibly disappointed that we didn’t win the final because it was so close and it felt like there were just a few points in it. Obviously I’m pleased that we managed to beat our seeding and it was as an absolute privilege to play with a great player and one of my best friends,” said Hunt. ” Now I’ll have a few days break and then the focus is Bath Indoors.”

A memorable final day for the Brits at the Doubles Masters saw Alfie Hewett and David Phillipson better their pre-tournament fourth seeding to finish in third place. Hewett and Phillipson defeated Brazilian duo Mauricio Pomme and Carlos Santos 6-1, 6-3 for the highest Doubles Masters finishing position yet for both players.

The NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters is the ITF's year-end championship for the world's top ranked wheelchair tennis singles players. The top eight men's and women's players and the top six quad players in the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Rankings are invited to battle it out to be crowned master of their division.

06/11/16

A Brit is guaranteed to lift the women’s doubles title at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters after Louise Hunt and Lucy Shuker both reached Sunday’s final with their respective partners.

Top seeds Shuker and Diede de Groot of the Netherlands faced second seeds Katharina Kruger of Germany and Michaela Spaanstra of the Netherlands and won their semi-final 6-2, 7-5.

After beating the second seeds earlier in the week, Hunt and the USA’s Dana Mathewson put in another solid performance to defeat Charlotte Famin of France and Emmy Kaiser of the USA 6-3, 6-3 in their semi-final.

Alfie Hewett and David Phillipson will play Brazilian’s Mauricio Pomme and Carlos Santos for third place in the men’s doubles after losing out to Gustavo Fernandez and Joachim Gerard 6-2, 6-4.

05/11/16

Antony Cotterll and Andy Lapthorne booked their place in the quad doubles final as the round-robin pool matches came to an end on the third day of play in Mission Viejo.

Louise Hunt also joined Lucy Shuker in the women’s doubles semi-finals, with hopes remaining of having two Brits in the women’s final. Meanwhile, after Gordon Reid and Michael Jeremiasz had to withdraw from the men’s doubles, due to the Frenchman being injured, Alfie Hewett and David Phillipson boked their place in the men’s doubles semis.

Cotterill and Lapthorne gained a comfortable 6-1, 6-3 win over American Greg Hasterok and Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva to finish second in the quad doubles round-robin pool to American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner. Cotterill and Lapthorne will pay Taylor and Wagner in Sunday’s final.

With Lucy Shuker and her Dutch partner Diede de Groot having already qualified for the women’s doubles semis after remaining unbeaten in their round-robin matches to top their pool, Hunt and the USA’s Dana Mathewson completed the other pool in second place. Hunt and Mathewson beat Colombia Angelia Bernal and Chile’s Francisca Mardones 6-2 6-0 and will now play Charlotte Famin of France and the USA’s Emmy Kaiser for a place in the final.

Top seeds Shuker and de Groot will play second seeds Katharina Kruger of Germany and Michaela Spaanstra of the Netherlands in the other women’s semi-final.

Hewett and Phillipson finished second in their men’s doubles round-robin pool after a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Brazil’s Rafael Medeiros and Daniel Rodrigues. They will now face Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard in the semi-finals.

4/11/16

Louise Hunt and Lucy Shuker and their respective partners posted women’s doubles round-robin wins on the second day of the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters, with Shuker and Diede de Groot of the Netherlands making it two wins out of two to ensure their spot in the semi-finals.

Hunt and the USA’s Dana Mathewson produced the outstanding result on the second day of play as they got their Doubles Masters challenge underway with a 6-1, 7-6(1) victory over  second seeds Katharina Kruger of Germany and Michaela Spaanstra of the Netherlands.  Hunt and Mathewson face Colombia’s Angelica Bernal and Francisca Mardones of Chile in their final Pool 2 round-robin match.

De Groot and Shuker maintained their unbeaten record as a partnership to defeat Italy’s Giulia Capocci and Marianno Lauro 6-0, 6-3, ensuring they go through to the semifinals as winners of Pool 1.

Elsewhere, it was a difficult day for the Brits in the men’s doubles and quad doubles. Alfie Hewett and David Phillipson lost out to Rio Paralympic gold medallist Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer of France 6-0, 6-1. Hewett and Phillipson will now play Brazil’s Rafael Medeiros and Daniel Rodrigues in their last pool match.

In Pool 1 of the men’s doubles defending champions Gordon Reid and Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz were unable to play their second round-robin match, giving a walkover to Gustavo Fernandez and Joachim Gerard. Reid and Jeremiasz are scheduled to play Italy’s Massimiliano Banci and Silviu Culea in their last round-robin match.

Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne will play Greg Hasterok of the USA and Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva in their last quad doubles pool match. Cotterill and Lapthorne had to retire from their second match of the week against top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner, with the USA’s defending champions having taken the first set 6-3.

3/11/16

All six Brits in action on the first day of play in Mission Viejo completed their opening round-robin matches with straight sets wins in their respective events.

Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne face American top seeds and reigning champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the second of their quad doubles pool matches after beating Canada’s Mika Ishikawa and Kyu-Seung Kim 6-2, 6-0.

The other all-Brit partnership at this year’s Doubles Masters, Alfie Hewett and David Philipson, beat Italian duo Antonio Cippo and Ivan Tratter 6-3, 6-1 in the first of their three men’s doubles Pool 1 contests.

Hewett and Phillipson now meet top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer as Hewett goes up against the French pairing for the first time since the Rio Paralympic men’s doubles final.

Gordon Reid and Michael Jeremiasz began the defence of their men’s Doubles Masters title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Brazilian duo Mauricio Pomme and Carlos Santos. The second seeds play Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Joachim Gerard of Belgium in their second Pool 2 match.

Lucy Shuker and her Dutch partner Diede de Groot won their first ever match together, against Charlotte Famin of France and Emmy Kaiser of the USA, 6-4, 6-1 in Pool 1 of the women’s doubles. They now play Giulia Capocci and Marianna Lauro of Italy, Meanwhile, Louise Hunt begins her bid to reach a second Doubles Masters final on the second day of action. Hunt and Dana Mathewson of the USA face Katharina Kruger of Germany and Michaela Spaanstra of the Netherlands.

2/11/16

A total of seven Brits are contesting this week's UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Viejo, Southern California.

Rio Paralympic singles champion and doubles silver medallist Gordon Reid and Frenchman Michael Jeremiasz begin the defence of their men’s title against Brazil’s Mauricio Pomme and Carlos Santos on Wednesday.

Jeremiasz and Reid are second seeds and face former US Open finalists Gustavo Fernandez and Joachim Gerard and Italy’s Massimiliano Banci and Silviu Culea in their remaining Pool 2 matches.

Reid’s Rio silver medal-winning doubles partner Alfie Hewett teams up with another fellow Brit, David Phillipson, in Mission Viejo. They are drawn in Pool 1 of the men’s event alongside Rio gold medallists Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer of France. Hewett and Phillipson face Italian duo Antonio Cippo and Ivan Tratter in their opening round-robin match.

The first day of competition in Mission Viejo begins with the first two quad doubles round-robin matches. The all-Brit partnership of Rio Paralympians Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne face Canada’s Mika Ishikawa and Kyu-Seung Kim of Korea. Lapthorne was quad singles silver medallist and quad doubles bronze medallist in Rio.

The opening day of play comes to an end with the first women’s doubles contests. Britain’s two-time Paralympic doubles bronze medallist Lucy Shuker is a former multiple Doubles Masters finalist. Shuker partners Diede de Groot of the Netherlands in Mission Viejo as they play together for the first time. Top seeds Shuker and de Groot face Charlotte Famin of France and Emmy Kaiser of the USA in their opening Pool 1 contest. They then play Italy’s Giulia Capocci and Marianna Lauro later in the week.

Shuker’s fellow former Doubles Masters finalist Louise Hunt and her American partner Dana Mathewson are not in action on the opening day of competition after being drawn in Pool 2 in the women’s doubles. Hunt and Mathewson play Germany’s Katharina Kruger and the Netherlands’ Michaela Spaanstra and the Colombian-Chilean partnership of Angelica Bernal and Francisca Mardones later in the week.