Steels wins junior title in Turkey
A week after helping Great Britain to fourth place in the junior event at the Invacare World Team Cup, Devon's Josh Steels has achieved more success in Antalya, Turkey this week, winning Friday's junior singles final at the Turkish Open.
Seventeen-year-old Steels defeated Iraq's Mohammed Talib 6-1, 6-3, avenging a loss to Talib in a championship tie-break during Britain's 2-1 win over Iraq in the round-robin phase of last week's World Team Cup.
After saving nine match points in her women's singles semi-final on Thursday at the ITF Futures event, British No 3 Louise Hunt was unable to clinch a British double on the final day of competition in Antalya, slipping to a 6-1, 6-3 loss to Colombia's Johana Martinez.
Meanwhile, British interest in the Japan Open Super Series event in Fukuoka came to an end on Friday, with David Phillipson bowing out of the men's singles and Lucy Shuker seeing her women's doubles challenge come to an end.
British No. 1 Phillipson was unable to maintain a strong first set effort against French world No 2 Stephane Houdet in the men's quarter-finals, with second seed Houdet progressing 6-4, 6-0.
Meanwhile, 2009 Wimbledon Women's Wheelchair Doubles finalists Shuker and Daniela di Toro of Australia were edged out in their quarter-final in Japan, beaten 2-6, 6-4 (10-8) by Thailand's Sakhorn Khanthasit and Sharon Walraven of the Netherlands.
