Reid misses out on Australian Open double

Gordon Reid remained magnanimous in defeat as he was narrowly beaten by Shingo Kunieda in the final of the Australian Open wheelchair singles.

The 28-year-old Scot ran the Japanese No.1 seed close, breaking his rival twice in the opening set and once at the start of the second, but Kunieda eventually prevailed 6-4 6-4 to win his 23rd Grand Slam singles title.

And the 2016 singles champion in Melbourne reserved special praise for his opponent after the match as he eyes improvement with the season ramping up.

“Congratulations to Shingo,” he said.

“I thought I played well today, but he obviously played a little bit better.

“For me – I say it a lot – Shingo’s without a doubt the greatest player that’s played in the men’s division, so it’s always an honour to share the court, especially on an occasion like this.

“It’s been a great week, I’m proud of my efforts. Hopefully we can take that on to the rest of the year.”