12 July 2018
Home crowd give Reid and Hewett Wimbledon advantage
Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid rode Wimbledon’s Big Dipper to book their shot at a third straight men’s wheelchair doubles title in rollercoaster fashion.
Hewett and Reid were pushed the distance by Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Japan’s Shingo Kunieda in an edge of your seat encounter, in which control swung repeatedly back and forth.
They were ahead, behind, ahead and behind but a vocal home crowd - including some very partisan supporters of Team Heid - turned up the volume and the Brits experience paid dividends, with their progress secured 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 in two hours and 48 minutes.
Now Joachim Gerard and Stefan Olsson are in their way after they despatched French top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer, who Hewett and Reid beat in their previous two finals appearances here.
And that’s extra motivation, as Olsson beat Hewett 6-2, 6-4 in the singles semi-finals earlier in the day, while Gerard took down Paralympic champion Reid in the quarter-finals.
Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett celebrate their dramatic victory
“That was a match of ups and downs and there was some very tired bodies out there. It was a really high-quality game and we were really buzzing at the end,” said Reid.
“Because we’ve won for the last two years there is a lot of expectation from everyone, except us. We know how difficult it is to win this once, let alone twice or maybe three times.
“The final is going to be really tough, we’ve learned already in this tournament how good those players are. They’ve got big serves, they are really effective on grass but we know what to expect and we will be ready.
“The crowd made a big time difference and we’ll be playing the final out on Court 3 with even more support behind us. When you needed that bit extra they got the adrenaline flowing and the heart racing and really pulled us over the line.”
“The final is going to be really tough, we’ve learned already in this tournament how good those players are."
Hewett cut a downbeat figure after his defeat in the singles semi-finals and the fist-pumping celebrations that greeted the final winner underlined just how much this meant.
“We kept believing in ourselves, we knew what we needed to do,” he said. “We never panicked but at times we lacked intensity and we had to turn it on and fire ourselves up.
“Gordon did a good job of picking me up because I was really disappointed after losing in the singles and I started the match a little bit flat too.
“I’m excited to be in another Wimbledon final. I’ve got such great memories of last year and I want that feeling again.”
Elsewhere, Lucy Shuker’s bid to reach a ninth Wimbledon women’s wheelchair doubles final remains on course.
Alongside German partner Sabine Ellerbrock, she was leading Marjoelin Buis and Aniek Van Koot 3-6, 6-4, 3-1 with the serve when bad light stopped play.
Join the ParalympicsGB movement
Join
The ParalympicsGB movement
We may include relevant updates from our trusted partners, but will never sell your data on. We take your privacy seriously and you can opt out at any time Privacy Policy
Related News
30 December 2022
Geoff Newton awarded OBE in King's New Year's Honours
3 September 2021
Whiley and Shuker win third Paralympic medal as a pair after doubles silver
3 September 2021
Jordanne Whiley: Singles bronze is the happiest moment of my life
2 September 2021
Gold-medal match a "dream come true" for Whiley and Shuker
1 September 2021
Hewett and Reid close in as Lapthorne and Cotterill miss out
30 August 2021
Reid and Hewett eyeing Rio revenge after reaching wheelchair tennis final
30 August 2021
Reid, Hewett and Whiley move closer to wheelchair tennis medals
28 August 2021
Whiley and Shuker move closer to wheelchair tennis medal after comfortable win
28 August 2021
Whiley up and running with fine opening wheelchair tennis victory
27 August 2021