GORDON REID’S bid for a fourth straight French Open men’s wheelchair doubles title is very much on as the sharp end of the French Open in Paris approaches this weekend.
The former Hermitage Academy pupil – winner, along with fellow Brit Alfie Hewett, of an incredible 16 Grand Slam doubles crowns, including a remarkable 10 in a row between 2019 and 2022 – will line up alongside Hewett against Belgium’s Joachim Gerard and up-and-coming Japanese star Tokito Oda in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on Friday.
Reid and Hewett booked their place in the last four of the competition after seeing off the host nation’s Frederic Cattaneo and Casey Ratzlaff of the USA in the quarter-finals – though it wasn’t as plain sailing as some observers might have expected, with the Brits’ opponents putting up a particularly tough fight in the second set before the top seeds eventually triumphed 6-2, 7-5.
Gerard and Oda made sure of their semi-final spot after seeing off the Dutch duo of Maikel Scheffers and Ruben Spaargaren – though again not without a second-set fight, winning 6-1, 7-5.
Friday’s semi-final is the third match on the order of play on court 7 at Roland Garros, with Reid and Hewett due on court immediately after the other men’s wheelchair doubles semi-final, which will see the home nation’s Stephane Houdet and Takashi Sanada of Japan face the second seeds, Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina and Spain’s Martin de la Puente.
Fernandez has been on the losing side in two of Reid and Hewett’s three successive French Open titles, with the Brits winning 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) against Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda of Japan last year and 7-6 (4), 1-6, [10-3] against the same opponents in 2020.
The British pair’s 2021 win at Roland Garros saw them dash hopes of a home triumph for Houdet and his fellow Frenchman Nicolas Peifer, with Reid and Hewett winning the final 6-3, 6-0.
Sadly for Reid his hopes of springing a singles upset against his doubles partner were dashed in the quarter-finals as Hewett won the all-British tie 6-1, 6-0 to earn a semi-final tie against Fernandez.
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