Lapthorne fights back from set and 0-4 down to reach final

  • Posted: Jul 26, 2019

Britain’s Andy Lapthorne reached his fifth quad singles final in six years at the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships after a superb fightback to beat Dutchman Sam Schroder.

Trailing by a set and 4-0, Lapthorne turned the match around to earn a 2-6 7-5 6-2 victory in Nottingham.

Gordon Reid’s bid to reach the singles final ended with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 defeat by world number one Gustavo Fernandez.

Jordanne Whiley reached the women’s doubles final with Japan’s Yui Kamiji.

Whiley and Kamiji won 6-3 6-1 against another British and Japanese pairing in Lucy Shuker and Momoko Ohtani.

  • Catch-up: Singles and doubles semi-finals

Whiley and Kamiji will meet Dutch top seeds Diede de Groot and Aniek van Koot – who they lost to in the Wimbledon semi-finals – for the trophy on Saturday.

World number three Lapthorne plays Niels Vink of the Netherlands in his final on Sunday after his extraordinary comeback in Friday’s semi-final.

“Heart and desire is what it’s all about this week,” Lapthorne said.

“As long as I compete well, that’s all I can do. I love winning, I love competing, I love playing those kind of matches.

“Playing matches like that, against a guy that pushes me to my limit and pushes me to dig deep within myself is the reason I play the game.”

Despite his singles disappointment, Reid has another chance to win silverware when he partners compatriot Alfie Hewett in the men’s doubles final on Saturday.

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