Hewett, Reid, Johnson & McDonald headline a haul of six British titles
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The titles just keep on coming for Brits tennis stars in January, with seven players picking up silverware across the ATP Challenger, ITF and Uniqlo Wheelchair Tours this week. Here are some of the highlights from what was another busy and entertaining week in British tennis.
Hewett and Reid secure 10th Super Series title as a doubles duo
The world’s top wheelchair tennis doubles duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid made a strong statement at their first tournament of the 2024 season, after securing the crown at the Melbourne Wheelchair Open.
The top seeds dominated the field down under, easing to the final without dropping a set before coming out on top in a tough battle against Joachim Gerard and Stephane Houdet, 6-3, 1-6, (10-8) to etch their names on the trophy once again.
This triumph marked the duo’s 45th career men’s doubles trophy together.
Next up, Hewett and Reid will head to Melbourne Park to contest in the Australian Open men's singles and doubles draw, which will get underway on Tuesday 23 January through to Saturday 27 January.
The British pair will be looking to secure a fifth successive doubles trophy at the tournament, while Hewett will be looking to make it two from two as he gears up to defend his title.
Keep up with all the British results at the Australian Open
Johnson lifts sixth career Challenger title
Luke Johnson has got his season off to a winning start, with the Brit adding yet another ATP Challenger title to his collection at the Nonthaburi Challenger event.
Partnering the Tunisian world No.125 Skander Mansouri to lift their fourth title together, the pair eased to the trophy with an impressive 7-5, 6-4 win over Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha.
This win sees Johnson edge closer to breaking into the world’s top 100, as he settles at a career high ranking of No.113.
Three Brits enjoy winning week in Sunderland
Kyle Edmund picked up his second title in as many weeks at the M25 Sunderland after defeating fellow Brit Hamish Stewart 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 in the final.
Meanwhile Marcus Willis and David Stevenson paired up for the doubles event where they pulled off a comeback win in the final to overcome French duo Dan Added and Clement Chidekh 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-8.
Ella McDonald teamed up with Laura Hiertaranta to take the doubles crown at the W35 event, capping off a dominant week with a straight sets victory over Julie Belgraver and Katarina Stresnakova, 6-4, 6-1.
Coming to Sunderland off the back of winning his first title in four years at the M25 Loughborough, Edmund looked an unstoppable force once again, with the Brit not dropping a set en route to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, McDonald also made it back-to-back titles on home soil, with the British, Finnish duo sprinting to title victory without dropping a single set all week. This marks the 18-year-old’s third senior-level doubles title of her career.
Breakwell takes the edge in battle of the Brits to clinch Arizona Open silverware
Wheelchair tennis star Abbie Breakwell has made a fast start to her 2024 season after the Brit rose to doubles victory at the Arizona Open Wheelchair Tennis Tournament.
The 20-year-old partnered American Maylee Phelps for the ITF Futures event. The pair dispatched the all-Canadian partnership of Anne-Marie Dolinar and Natalia Lanucha 6-2, 6-0 in the semi-final before edging past British duo Ruby Bishop and Cornelia Oosthuizen 6-1, 7-6(6) to lift the silverware.
Crawford and Jubb make deep runs on ITF and Challenger tours
From Australian Open qualifying, to his first final of the year – Oliver Crawford carried his form that took him to the third round of the qualifiers all the way to the final of the M25 Bhopal event. Crawford, who recently changed nationalities from USA to Great Britain, came through a series of tight matches to reach the final before being forced to withdraw from the tournament before stepping onto court.
Meanwhile, Paul Jubb enjoyed a solid week at the Indian Wells 1 Challenger 50 event where he reached the semi-final before losing out to Michell Krueger 6-4, 6-4.
