Reid and Lapthorne advance in Australia

Rio gold medallist Gordon Reid made the perfect start to the 2019 season as he kept up his pursuit of a pair of titles at the Bendigo Wheelchair Tennis Open.

The 27-year-old, an 11-time Grand Slam winner across singles and doubles competition, advanced to the quarter-finals of the men’s singles, comfortably beating home favourite Greg Britten 6-0 6-0.

The world number four – seeded sixth in the singles in Australia – will face third seed Joachim Gerard in the last eight as he looks to avenge the Belgians’ victory over him in last year’s Wimbledon quarter-finals.

In total the pair have met on 23 occasions, with the Belgian edging the head-to-head match-up 12-11 and the Wimbledon match-up the last time the two faced off.

But Reid will also have the task of a doubles semi-final to navigate, as he and partner Gustavo Fernandez – the tournament’s second seeds - beat Martin de la Puente and Thomas Flax 6-0 6-1.

The reigning Wimbledon and US Open doubles champion, who has a career grand slam in the discipline, will face Japanese duo Takashi Sanada and Shingo Kunieda for a place in the final alongside Argentinian Fernandez.

And Reid wasn’t the only Brit to progress on the second day of action down under.

Three time Paralympic medallist Andy Lapthorne put doubles disappointment behind him as he responded from defeat yesterday to reach the semi-finals of the quads competition with a 6-0 6-4 triumph over South Korea’s Kim Kyu-Seung.

The world number three – who is unseeded in Australia – will face up against doubles partner and second seed David Wagner in the semi-finals after the duo were eliminated in the first round of the pairs competition.

Lapthorne has faced up against his opponent a bumper 56 times, with the American prevailing on 42 occasions while Lapthorne has won 14.

With an intimate knowledge of Wagner’s game, therefore, the stage is set for a tightly fought semi-final contest.

Sportsbeat 2019