Gordon Reid is celebrating a return to the world’s top five this week after his impressive start to
2020 continued with his latest singles final and a fourth successive doubles title with fellow Brit Alfie Hewett over the weekend in Rotterdam.
Reigning Paralympic champion Reid, who is part of the LTA’s GB Wheelchair Tennis World Class Performance Programme, is no stranger to success at the ABN AMRO World Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. He won the singles title at the ITF 1 Series event in 2015 and 2016 and has also claimed three previous doubles titles in Rotterdam, where the wheelchair tennis event is integrated with one of Europe’s most popular ATP 500 tournaments.
In his first tournament since reaching the men’s singles final and winning the men’s doubles at the Australian Open, Reid, 28, enjoyed straight sets wins over Sweden’s Stefan Olsson and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard to set up the first ever all-Brit final in Rotterdam. However, despite five of the first seven games of their latest head-to-head going to deuce and the high-quality contest lasting an hour and 31 minutes, it was Hewett that added his name to the roll of honour 6-0, 6-3. Reid said: “I’m very happy to have reached back to back singles finals, with some solid performances to take out top two 10 players in straight sets in the quarter and semi-finals. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my highest level in the final and the best man won on the day. But I’m looking forward now to getting some more match play under my belt in Bolton.”
Reid, who has returned to the world’s top five this week for the first time since December 2018, is top seed for the men’s singles at the Bolton Indoor, a tournament he has also won twice before. The event continues until Saturday.
He will also be seeking back-to-back doubles titles in Bolton after partnering Hewett to their first title together in Rotterdam. The world’s top-ranked doubles pairing since winning their first Australian Open title as a pairing, Hewett and Reid beat Wimbledon champions Gerard and Olsson 6-3, 6-3 to reach the final before defeating reigning Paralympic champions Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer of France 6-1, 4-6, (10-5) after a deciding match tiebreak.
After winning his fourth doubles title in Rotterdam to maintain his and Hewett’s unbeaten partnership for 2020, doubles world No.2 Reid added: “I thought myself and Alfie performed very well as a team again this week. We had the perfect start to the year in doubles in Australia, so it was important for us to keep the momentum flowing in Rotterdam.”
Reid partners another fellow Brit, Dermot Bailey, in the men’s doubles at this week’s Bolton Indoor.
For news and updates from the Bolton Indoor follow on Twitter @WChairTennisGB and @the_LTA and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GBWheelchairTennis/.
To find out more about the LTA’s work with disability tennis, head to www.lta.org.uk/play or email disabilitytennis@lta.org.uk.