Successful first day for Great Britain at Invacare World Team Cup
Great Britain's 11-strong squad of wheelchair tennis players enjoyed a largely very successful first day on Monday at the 2010 Invacare World Team Cup, with victories in each of the men's, women's and junior events, while the quad team missed out in a tough assignment against Sweden.
Britain's men and women are now both through to their respective quarter-finals, with the Great Britain women's team of Kay Forshaw, Louise Hunt and Jordanne Whiley facing USA on centre court during Tuesday's second day of play at Club Ali Bey in Antalya, Turkey.
The women's team, the second seeds this year, beat Spain in a deciding doubles rubber on Monday. In her first World Team Cup since 2003 after starting a family, former National champion Kay Forshaw had a tough task against former Spanish No 1 Lola Ochoa in the opening singles rubber, with the Spaniard going on to win 6-3, 6-2.
However, Jordanne Whiley kept second seeds and last year's runners-up Great Britain in the tie with a comfortable 6-1, 6-1 victory over Barbara Vidal and Whiley then paired up with Louise Hunt to win the deciding doubles rubber, beating Elena Jacinto and Ochoa 6-3, 6-1.
"It wasn't the hardest opening tie we could have had, but it wasn't the easiest either and it's nice to get it out the way and be able to concentrate on what we think will be harder task against the USA," said Whiley, currently the world's No 1 ranked junior. "In my singles I didn't serve that well, but played pretty well otherwise and we put up a solid performance to win the doubles, so just need to keep focussed now."
Fourth seeds Great Britain also won a deciding doubles rubber against Korea to get off to a winning start in men's World Group 1. In their final match of the 2009 Invacare World Team Cup, Great Britain beat Korea 2-0 to claim fifth place, but Korea got off to a winning start this year after Ha-Gel Lee beat Marc McCarroll 6-4, 6-4. David Phillipson replied for Great Britain with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Sang-Ho Oh and then paired up with Gordon Reid to win the doubles 6-2, 4-6 6-3.
After a day off on Tuesday, Great Britain's men face Slovakia on Wednesday in the quarter-finals as they bid to reach the semi-finals of World Group 1 for the first time since 2002, having finished fifth in 2009.
Great Britain's junior team of Alfie Hewitt and Josh Steels secured an exciting victory over USA in the closest of the day's four round-robin junior ties.
Twelve-year-old Hewitt, who is making his Invacare World Team Cup competitive debut after leading out the Great Britain squad as their mascot at the opening ceremony in Nottingham last year, got his career in the event off to a marvellous start as he edged a close match against USA's Ryan Nelson 7-5, 6-4.
Mackenzie Soldan kept the USA in the tie after beating Steels 6-0, 7-6(6), but Hewitt and Steels clinched the deciding doubles 6-3, 6-3 to complete a fine performance, ending the opening day at the top of their pool alongside defending champions Netherlands, who play Great Britain in the second of three pool matches on Tuesday.
Great Britain's quad team face second seeds Canada on Tuesday in the second of their pool matches after Antony Cotterill and Jon Parfitt lost both their singles matches to the higher ranked Swedish players Anders Hard and Johan Andersson on Monday. Adam Field partnered Cotterill for the doubles rubber, which ended in a 6-4, 6-2 win for the Swedish team.