Lucy Shuker wins career first Super Series title in St. Louis
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Lucy Shuker secured the biggest singles title of her career on the last day of the US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships, defeating American Emmy Kaiser in the women's final in St.Louis to win her first Super Series singles crown.
After reaching the final of the last Super Series of the season for the third time since 2012, third seed Shuker defeated fourth seed Kaiser 63 61, ending her two-week tour of the USA with back-to-back singles titles. Shuker arrived in St. Louis world ranked No. 9 after securing victory at the PTR Championships on Hilton Head Island and the British No. 2 now looks set to return the world's top eight.
"It's been great to come out here and get back-to-back titles, especially my first Super Series title. I had the tougher draw in both tournaments and have been delighted to get victories over Katharina Kruger, Dana Mathewson, Emmy Kaiser and Kgothatso Montjane.
08/10/16
Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne both finished runners-up in their respective doubles finals at the US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships ahead of Shuker contesting Sunday's women's singles final.
Shuker and the USA's Dana Mathewson were edged out by Chile's Macarena Cabrillana and South Africa's Kgothatso Montjane 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the women's doubles final. Shuker faces Montjane in the women's singles final.
Lapthorne and his American partner Greg Hasterok slipped to a 7-5, 6-1 loss to USA top seeds and Rio Paralympic silver medallists Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the quad doubles final.
07/10/16
Lucy Shuker’s reached her third US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships women’s singles final and joined Andy Lapthorne in reaching a doubles final at the sixth and last Super Series event of 2016.
Shuker, the runner-up in St. Louis in 2012 and again last year, kept herself on course in her bid for a first Super Series singles title with a 6-3, 7-6(6) semi-final victory over second seed Kgothatso Montjane. Shuker’s victory saw her repeat her win over the South African in the final of last week’s PTR Championships on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina and she will now play American fourth seed Emmy Kaiser in Sunday’s final in St. Louis.
Shuker and the USA’s Dana Mathewson, the top seeds, defeated Giulia Capocci of Italy and Katharina Kruger of Germany 6-3, 6-3 in their women’s doubles semi-final and go on to face Chile’s Macarena Cabrillana and Montjane in the final.
Lapthorne and the USA’s Greg Hasterok play American top seeds Nick Taylor and David Wagner in Saturday’s quad doubles final after defeating Guatemala’s Julio Rueda and Korea’s Kyu-Seung Kim. However, Lapthorne’s hopes of reaching the final of the quad singes came to an end against world No. 3 Lucas Sithole after the South African won their semi-final 6-2, 6-2.
Alfie Hewett’s hopes of reaching another Super Series doubles final also came to an end in the semi-final when Hewett and Martin de la Puente of Spain lost out 6-4, 6-0 to top seeds Stephane Houdet of France and Shingo Kunieda of Japan.
05/10/16
Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne booked their places in Friday's women's singles and quad singles semi-finals on the second day of competition in St. Louis. Meanwhile, Alfie Hewett also reached the men's doubles semi-finals, but went out of the men's singles.
Shuker edged out her American doubles partner Dana Mathewson 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 in the women's singles quarter-finals and will go on to face South Africa's Kgothatso Montjane in a rematch of their PTR Championships final, a match that Shuker won.
Lapthorne also beat his doubles partner when he defeated USA's Greg Hasterok 6-0, 6-3 to book a quad singles semi-final against South African second seed Lucas Sithole.
Shuker and Mathewson will meet American duo Amy Burnett and Elizabeth Williams after a bye into the women's doubles semi-finals.
Lapthorne and Hasterok defeated USA partnership Taylor Graham and David Jordan 6-4, 6-0 to book a quad doubles semi-final against Kyu-Seung Kim of Korea and Julio Rueda of Guatemala.
Hewett and Spain's Martin de la Puente will play top seeds Stephane Houdet and Shingo Kunieda in the men's doubles semi-finals after defeating the USA's Casey Ratzlaff and Kouhei Suzuki of Japan 6-1, 6-3. However, Rio Paralympic silver medallist Hewett's hopes of back-to-back titles in the USA came to an end with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 loss to second seed Gustavo Fernandez.
04/10/16
Three of Great Britain's medallists at the Rio Paralympics are in action at the US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships, the final Super Series tournament of the year, in St.Louis. Alfie Hewett begins the tournament at a career high men's singles world ranking of No.8. Lucy Shuker has returned to No.9 in the women's singles rankings after both Brits were victorious at the PTR Championships on Hilton Head. Therefore, both Hewett and Shuker begin their challenges in St. Louis hoping to secure qualification places for the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters.
Hewett beat the USA's Andrew Gudmondson 6-0, 6-0 in his opening men's singles match to book a quarter-final against Argentinian second seed and world No. 5 Gustavo Fernandez.
Andy Lapthorne beat Gary Luker of Canada 6-1, 6-0 to get off to a confident start in the quad singles. World No. 4 Lapthone plays American Greg Hasterok for a place in the semi-finals.
Shuker has a first round bye in the women's singles.
