World Team Cup title for British Wheelchair Tennis

Posted: Tue, 9 May 2017 13:46

World Team Cup title for British Wheelchair Tennis

Great Britain's quad wheelchair tennis team won their fifth World Team Cup after beating Israel 2-1 in the final.

James Shaw lost 6-2 6-1 to London 2012 gold medallist Noam Gershony before world number three Andy Lapthorne levelled the tie with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Shraga Weinberg.

Lapthorne and Antony Cotterill then beat Gershony and Weinberg 6-3 6-0 in the decider of the final in Sardinia.

GB missed out on a historic double as the men's team lost 2-1 to France.

"It's been a great week, the team spirit has been really high and we have had some really good performances," Cotterill said.

"Everyone has played a part, including the crowd. We knew today would be tough against Israel but we played some great tennis to finish with a comfortable win in doubles."

The GB men's team had a dream start in their final, as world number seven Alfie Hewett beat France's world number five Nicolas Peifer 6-3 6-3.

But world number one Stephane Houdet forced the deciding doubles rubber, beating world number two and five-time Grand Slam champion Gordon Reid 6-4 6-3.

Then, in a repeat of the Rio 2016 Paralympics final, Paralympic champions Houdet and Peifer beat silver medallists Hewett and Reid 6-3 6-0.

Paralympic singles champion Reid added: "It's a disappointing end to a great week as we came into the final unbeaten in all our matches this week and were confident we could regain the title we won in 2015.

"However, Houdet and Peifer are not Paralympic champions for nothing and we will look to come back stronger."

IMAGE SOURCE: Tennis Foundation

TEXT SOURCE: BBC Sport

Tags: Disability Sport, Featured, News, Play Sport, Tennis, Wheelchair Tennis