Londoner Andy Lapthorne started his defence of the Lexus British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships quads title with a 6-1 6-0 win over fellow Brit Oliver Cox on Tuesday.
Returning to the scene of one of his greatest triumphs as he won the title for the first time at the Lexus Nottingham Tennis Centre last year, Lapthorne was relieved to seal a win in challenging windy conditions.
“It was really good to get through the first match,” said the British No.1, who receives Elite support from the LTA.
“Obviously defending champion this year so it’s nice to get off to a winning start and to win in straight sets is always key.”
Lapthorne won his maiden Lexus British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships title last year after beating Australia’s Heath Davidson in the final, as he finally got his hands on the trophy after losing out in five previous appearances in the final.
Now he will face a rematch with Davidson in the quarter-finals and he is aiming to follow his game plan from a year ago to get the job done.
“You just try and come out and be positive and play attacking tennis by going for my shots,” added Lapthorne, who has won 15 Grand Slam titles in his decorated career.
“That’s what I did last year in the final and that’ll be the approach this year.”
To find out more about wheelchair tennis, check out the LTA’s website
