British players beat more seeds in Nottingham
Fourth seed Ronald Vink of the Netherlands came from a set down to keep his men’s singles challenge alive during Wednesday’s second day of play at the 21st British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships, part of the NEC wheelchair Tennis Tour. Meanwhile, two more British players beat seeded opposition to progress to Thursday’s men’s and women’s singles quarter-finals at Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Twenty one year-old Belgian world No. 17 Joachim Gerard outshone world No. 6 Vink in the first set of their second round match before the world Dutchman asserted himself in a second set tiebreak. Already the winner of one Super Series title this season, Vink then carried his momentum through to a convincing performance in the deciding set as he sealed a 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-0 victory.
Elsewhere, Britain’s David Phillipson and Gordon Reid will be the only two non-seeds in Thursday’s men’s main draw singles quarter-finals after Phillipson beat fellow Briton Tony Knappett 6-3, 6-3, while Reid emulated Phillipson’s achievement on Tuesday’s opening day of play when he beat a seeded player. The 18-year-old British No. 2 produced a polished performance to overcome French eighth seed Frederic Cazeaudumec 6-3, 6-2 and will now face Vink in the last eight, having gone to three sets with the Dutchman in their only match so far this season, at May’s World Team Cup in Turkey.
Nottinghamshire’s British No.1 Phillipson, who joins Reid in reaching a first British Open quarter-final, will now face third see Robin Ammerlaan of the Netherlands, the only previous British Open champion in this year’s men’s field after previous victories in 2003 and 2006.
The remaining seed players all had comfortable passages to the quarter-finals, with Japanese sixth seed Satoshi Saida set to face second seed Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands, while top seed Stephane Houdet faces fifth seed Nicolas Peifer in an all-French contest.
British No. 2 Jordanne Whiley will be the only non-seed in Thursday’s women’s singles semi-finals after defeating German seventh seed Katharina Kruger 6-4, 6-1 on Wednesday. Whiley wil now face second seed Florence Gravellier of France. Meanwhile, British No. 2 and eighth seed Lucy Shuker takes on world No. 1 and defending champion Esther Vergeer after a confident 6-1, 6-1 victory over Chile’s Francisca Mardones.
Vergeer is one of four Dutchwomen in the women’s singles quarter-finals after opening her bid for a 10th British Open title with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Colombia’s Johana Martinez. The youngest of the Dutch players in the last eight, sixth seed Marjolein Buis, had the toughest of all the second round matches after edging out Chile’s Maria Antonieta Ortiz 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4. Buis will face fourth seed Jiske Griffioen in the only all-Dutch quarter-final, while her compatriot and third seed Aniek van Koot takes on Belgian fifth seed Annick Sevenans.
As the quarter-final line-up in the quad singles was completed, top seed and defending champion David Wagner of the United States earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Israel’s Boaz Kramer.
Wagner will go head-to-head with young British sixth seed Andrew Lapthorne for the very first time in Thursday’s quarter-finals.
There was much better news for Israel in one of the other remaining last 16 matches to be played as former British Open champion Shraga Weinberg beat Dutch fourth seed Dorrie Timmermans 6-3, 6-3. Weinberg goes on to face American fifth seed Bryan Barten.
Swedish second seed Johan Andersson completes the quarter-final line-up in the quad singles after defeating American David Jordan 6-3, 6-3 and the world No. 3 will now face Britain’s Jamie Burdekin in a much anticipated contest on Thursday as former world No. 5 and Beijing Paralympic doubles medallist Burdekin continues his comeback following wrist surgery.
Seven of the world’s top 10 men, six of the world’s top 10 women and seven of the world’s top 10 quad division players head a field of 100 entrants for the 21st British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships, which continues until Sunday 25th July 2010, with the finals scheduled for both Saturday, 24th and Sunday, 25th July.
Entry is FREE to all spectators throughout the week.