Andy Lapthorne hopes an unexpected football-fuelled trip to Berlin can lift his spirits after a pair of hard-fought defeats at Wimbledon.
The British wheelchair quad star, 33, fell to a 6-1 6-0 singles semi-final loss against in-form No.1 seed Sam Schroder – who he triumphed over at the start of the grass-court season at the LTA’s Rothesay International Eastbourne – on Friday.
And despite a battling display alongside Israeli partner Guy Sasson against Dutch first seeds Niels Vink and Sam Schroder the following day, the No.2-seeded duo were unable to capitalise on their early one-set advantage and scramble over the line.
They lost 3-6 7-6 (3) 6-3 as Lapthorne fell just short of clinching his third Wimbledon doubles title and 18th Grand Slam crown overall.
Lapthorne, an avid West Ham fan away from the court, now has a free Sunday in store and hopes to get his hands on a hotly sought-after ticket for England’s seismic Euro 2024 final against Spain in the German capital tomorrow night.
He said: “It’s obviously never nice to lose, especially at Wimbledon.
“I don’t think I’ve played too badly here and I have to keep moving forward.
“In tennis you have to be a good loser and try to come back stronger.
“But I’m really excited for the final on Sunday – I’m not playing here now so I’ll see if anyone can get me a couple of tickets!
“I’ll be looking out for a pair.
“I’m really looking forward to it and hopefully the boys can get the job done.”
Back on the court, Lapthorne will next turn his attention to the Parlaylympics in Paris at the end of next month.
He won a quad singles silver medal at Rio 2016 – and doubles silver and bronze in London and Brazil – and now hopes to climb to the top of the podium in the first European Games for 12 years.
“I’m also really looking forward to it and hoping that I can try and get in the medals again,” he said.
“I’ll have lots of support, we’ll get good TV coverage and just like London, we can hopefully use the Games as a vehicle for further growth.”
For the latest action on the British summer grass court season, check out the LTA website
