Gordon Reid believes his loss in the wheelchair doubles final at Wimbledon will fuel desire for further success.
Scotland’s Reid and Alfie Hewett, who are supported by the LTA’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Pathway, were ultimately overpowered in a clinical display by Shingo Kunieda and Gustavo Fernandez, the Japanese and Argentine pairing coming from an early break down to seal a 6-3 6-1 victory on Court 3.
The defeat ended a run of ten straight Grand Slam titles for the British duo, having not lost at a Major since Wimbledon in 2019 before today.
On court after the match Kunieda praised Reid and Hewett’s recent run, describing them as the best doubles pairing in the world.
And as Reid looks to continue his recovery from a wrist tendon injury, he believes they can start another period of dominance shortly.
He said: “It was very nice of him [Kunieda] to say. He’s at the moment the greatest men’s wheelchair tennis player there’s ever been. Obviously that’s high praise coming from him.
“We’re really proud of the run we’ve had. Unfortunately circumstances didn’t help us to continue that today. At the end of the day we gave it our best shot and just came second best to the better team.
“There’s lots of hunger, we want to keep improving, keep adding to the titles. This year so far in Australia and in France, we were just trying to find a way to win when I was really not 100 percent physically. I’m hoping that’s kind of put to one side and that’s finished now.
“Hopefully we can now push on and try to improve, go out there both 100 percent, try to perform to our best.”
Hewett added: “We’re obviously disappointed not to continue our run in the Grand Slams and get the win today. It was a difficult match.
“They played pretty well. I think we were probably a little bit tired from yesterday. It’s a difficult one to take.”
Reid will next be in action at the LTA’s British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham which start next week.
For more information on the LTA’s British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships click here
