British Tennis Round-up: Hewett roars to victory at Wheelchair Tennis Masters
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Great Britain - Loughborough
Alfie Hewett made history at the weekend by becoming the first British male to win the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters singles title.
The 2017 French Open champion faced fellow Brit Gordon Reid in the final, which marked the tournament's first ever all-British final.
It was Reid who secured the first break as he raced to a 3-0 lead, but Hewett proved resilient to claim a 6-3, 6-2 victory.
Discover more with the Tennis Foundation's report.
Andy Lapthorne also featured in a final as he faced America's David Wagner for the quads title. Despite Lapthorne's efforts, triumph went to the American who prevailed 6-1, 6-2 to claim a record tenth Masters title.
United States
Hot off the heels of winning his 15th Futures singles title, Alex Ward lifted his second trophy in two weeks after he became champion of a Futures tournament in Waco, Texas.
The 27-year-old defeated America’s Trevor Allen Johnson 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-finals, before going on to win 6-1, 6-1 against his third American opponent of the week, Danny Thomas.
Israel
There was doubles success for Barnaby Smith as he triumphed at a Futures tournament in Ramat Hasharon.
The 18-year-old teamed up with Constantin Bittoun Kouzmine of France and defeated second seeds Darko Jandric and Vladyslav Orlov 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals. The pair faced top seeds Vladimir Polyakov and Volodymyr Uzhylovskyi in the final and resisted a second set comeback to take the match and title 6-4, 4-6, [10-3].
Success tasted particularly sweet for Smith as the achievement marked the first Fututes title of his career.
Ecuador
Emily Appleton enjoyed a deep run in the doubles of a $15K ITF Pro Circuit tournament in Manta. The 18-year-old partnered Columbia’s Maria Fernanda Herazo Gonzalez and reached the final without dropping a single set.
The top seeds faced Maria Jose Portillo Ramirez and Sofia Sewing in the final, but were denied the title after falling 6-1, 6-3.
Great Britain – Bolton
Back in Britain, Bolton Arena played host to the Team Tennis Schools National Finals for Years 7&8 and Years 9&10.
Over 2,500 teams entered the competition in winter, with 600 teams playing in the league stage from April 2017.
After competing in their respective county leagues and Regional Finals in November, 16 teams made it through to the National Finals (four girls and four boys for both competition categories, Years 7&8 and Years 9&10).
The Finals kicked off on Saturday and followed a round-robin format through to Sunday.
For the Years 7&8 Girls, it all came down to a decider between Talbot Heath School and Queenswood School, but it was the former who sealed the all-important doubles rubber to claim an overall 8-4 victory. In the same event for the boys, it was Reed's School who prevailed to finish 12-0.
Talbot Heath won all their matches in the Years 9&10 girls competition to successfully defend their title and Bournemouth Collegiate School battled hard to secure a 7-6 victory in the Years 9&10 boys competition.
Years 7&8 Girls |
Years 7&8 Boys |
Years 9&10 Girls |
Years 9&10 Boys |
|
Fourth place |
RGS Newcastle | Warwick School | Manchester High Schools for Girls | Manchester High Schools for Girls |
Third place |
Leicester Grammar School | Warwick School | Leicester Grammar School | Leicester Grammar School |
Second place |
Talbot Heath School | Millfield Prep School | Culford School | Culford School |
First place |
Queenswood School | Reed’s School | Talbot Heath School | Bournemouth Collegiate School |
