Britons continue to excel in USA and South Africa
Britain's wheelchair tennis players continued to produce impressive results at tournaments in the the USA and South Africa on Thursday, with David Phillipson and Jordanne Whiley reaching their first ITF Super Series quarter-finals in their respective men's and women's singles events at the Florida Open. Meanwhile, Scotland's Kevin Simpson has reached his second men's singles semi-final in successive weeks at the South African Open in Johannesburg, where Louise Hunt is also through to the women's singles semi-finals.
Nottinghamshire's Phillipson followed up Wednesday's first round victory over Austrian world No. 6 Martin Legner by defeating Canada's Yann Mathieu 6-3, 6-1 to earn a place in his first men's singles quarter-final at Super Series level, the most important tier of wheelchair tennis tournament outside of those integrated into the Grand Slams.
Currently Britain's No 2 ranked player, a position that he could now improve upon when next week's world rankings are published, 21-year-old Phillipson is set to face Dutch third seed and world No 4 Robin Ammerlaan in Friday's quarter-finals in Boca Raton.
There were mixed fortunes for Whiley and Lucy Shuker in the women's events, with Warwickshire's Whiley putting up a fine performance to beat Dutch eighth seed Marjolein Buis 6-1, 7-5 and reach the women's singles quarter-finals for the second successive year. However, with this year's Florida Open having Super Series status for the first time, Whiley is now set to move ever nearer to Buis, the player directly above her at No 12 in the world rankings.
Seventeen-year-old Whiley, currently the world's No 1 ranked junior girls' player, will face another Dutch opponent in the last eight in the shape of world No 7 Jiske Griffioen.
British No 1 and seventh seed Shuker saw her singles challenge end when she was beaten 4-6, 0-6 by Sabine Ellerbrock, the rising star of German wheelchair tennis, but Shuker and Whiley combined successfully to reach the women's doubles semi-finals. After a first round bye the British thirds seed beat American Jan Proctor and Karin Suter-Erath of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1 and go on to face top seeds Florence Gravellier of France and Sharon Walraven of the Netherlands in the last four.
Hampshire's Peter Norfolk opened his bid for a sixth Florida Open quad singles title confidently as he and fellow Briton Andrew Lapthorne both progressed to the quarter-finals. World No 1 Norfolk beat American Marc McLean 6-0 6-1 to earn a place in the last eight against Canadian fifth seed Sarah Hunter.
Eighth seed Lapthorne faces Swedish world No 4 Johan Andersson for the fourth time in his career after beating Italy's Antonio Raffaele 7-5, 6-3. Lapthorne has beaten Andersson on the last two occasions they have met and another victory could line 19-year-old Lapthorne up for a semi-final meeting with Norfolk.
Another semi-final showdown awaits Lapthorne and Norfolk after they paired up to win their opening quad doubles contest against American duo Bryan Barten and Jason Miller 6-2, 6-3. The defending Florida Open quad doubles champions, Lapthorne and Norfolk now face American top seeds and reigning Paralympic champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner in the last four, having upset the Americans in the quarter-finals last year.
Fellow Briton John Parfitt, who saw his quad doubles challenge come to an end on Wednesday, also exited the quad singles on Thursday when he was beaten 1-6, 4-6 by the far more experienced Barten.
At the South African Open in Johannesburg, third seed Simpson will face French top seed David Dalmasso for the second time in a week after the Scot edged to a 7-5, 7-5 victory over South Africa's Desmond Monyomane in his quarter-final.
London's Ade Adepitan made a solid attempt at giving Britain two singles semi-finalists, but was outdone by the experience of South African No 1 Sydwell Mathonsi. Adepitan began the day by having to complete his opening match after it was rained off on Wednesday with just two games played and the 37-year-old TV presenter and fast-improving wheelchair tennis player battled to a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over the host nation's Leon Els. Another tough contest against Mathonsi ended with the South African prevailing 6-3, 6-4.
However, there was better news for Adepitan in the men's doubles as he and Simpson progressed to the semi-finals. The British second seeds recovered well from a slow start to beat Zimbabwe's Nyasha Mharakurwa and Frank Ramokoetsi of South Africa 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 and will now face Mathonsi and Evans Maripa.
Wiltshire's British No 3 Hunt comfortably reached the semi-finals of the women's singles after dropping just one game to Busiswe Mrdelane. The only non-South African player left in the draw, 18-year-old Hunt now faces fourth seed Celia du Toit as she remains on course for a second final in a week against top seed Kgothatso Montjane. Hunt was runner-up to Montjane, in the Border Open in East London, which came to a belated end on Monday after rain delays.