2 June 2018
Wheelchair men's team claim World Team Cup silver
The Great Britain men’s team had to settle for silver in the final of the wheelchair tennis World Team Cup after losing out to Japan in Apeldoorn.
Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett both missed out in their singles matches to Takashi Sanada and Shingo Kunieda, respectively, as Japan prevailed 2-0 to claim the gold medal.
But the British women’s team bounced back from their semi-final defeat to China to dispatch France 2-0 in their play-off for bronze thanks to victories for Louise Hunt and Lucy Shuker.
The men were contesting their third final in four years, having won gold in 2015 and silver last year, and they started well as Reid claimed the first set of his rubber 6-2.
Sanada hit back to win the second set 6-3 to level the match, before edging a closely-fought deciding set 7-5 to put Japan in front after the first rubber.
The pressure was then on world No.1 Hewett to keep Great Britain’s hopes alive, but Kunieda delivered a masterclass in the first set to take it 6-2.
And a valiant effort from French Open champion Hewett in the second set was not enough to prevent Kunieda winning 6-3 to secure the gold medal for Japan.
The women’s team finished the World Team Cup on a high, though, after Hunt and Shuker won their singles matches to seal victory and a bronze medal.
Speaking after the event, Shuker said: “Super happy to get the win over the French No.1 seed to help Great Britain to a World Team Cup bronze.”
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