Eastcote’s Andy Lapthorne won the latest Super Series wheelchair tennis title of his career over the weekend at the BNP Paribas Open de France in Paris, where Ickenham’s Jordanne Whiley was a runner-up in the women’s doubles ahead of bidding for her third Grand Slam title of the year this week at Wimbledon.
Lapthorne partnered fellow Brit Antony Cotterill to victory in the region of Paris called Antony as the second seeds more than lived up the promise they had shown in April when reaching their first Super Series final together at the South African Open.
They subsequently formed two-thirds of the Great Britain team that won the quad title at the World Team Cup at the end of May, beating a United States team that included David Wagner and Greg Hasterok, the same two players that beat 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-3 in their quad doubles final on Saturday in France.
“To end June by winning a Super Series title with Antony after me, Jamie (Burdekin) and Antony ended May by winning the World Team Cup title is very sweet. It’s been a very memorable few weeks,” said Lapthorne, who bowed out of the quad singles in France to world No. 1 Wagner.
“What makes it extra special is that was Antony’s first Super Series title in either singles or doubles.”
Whiley and her London 2012 bronze medal-winning partner Lucy Shuker were runners-up in the women’s doubles in France, but the 2012 Wimbledon runners-up are in separate halves of the draw in SW19 this year as a total three players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance contest the third Grand Slam of the year.
Whiley renews her partnership with Japan’s Yui Kamiji, with whom she has won the first two Grand Slam doubles titles of her career this year at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
Whiley and Kamiji, the runners-up at Wimbledon in 2013 to Dutch duo Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot, who they beat in last month’s Roland Garros final, take on Germany’s Katharina Kruger and Sharon Walraven of the Netherlands on Friday. Victory could set the top seeds up for a rematch against Griffioen and van Koot, who are second seeds this time.
“It’s a good draw for me and Yui and after Melbourne and Roland Garros we have a lot of confidence and are really excited to be returning to Wimbledon as the top two ranked doubles players,” said Whiley, who is currently at a career best No. 2, behind Kamiji in the women’s doubles world rankings, courtesy of their victory in Paris.
“Every match at a Grand Slam is potentially tough, but hopefully we can continue our winning ways.”
