Tennis: Gordon Reid ready to take on Wimbledon top seed

The Helensburgh star will take on Japan’s Shingo Kunieda in his first match at SW19 today – the first time the pair have ever met competitively on grass.

But the 28-year-old has enjoyed a significant upturn in fortunes over recent months, moving up to number seven in the world rankings after reaching the finals of both the French Open at Roland Garros and the season’s first major grass court competition, the Fever -Tree Championships at Queen’s Club, last month.

Reid and Kunieda’s last meeting at a Grand Slam was in last month’s Roland Garros semi-finals, with Reid prevailing in three sets to reach his first Grand Slam singles final since 2016, when he won the inaugural Wimbledon men’s singles title.

He said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge of playing Shingo for the first time competitively on grass.

“He is top seed for a reason, but I feel I have the game to cause him a lot of problems on this surface.”

And it’s not just in the singles where Reid faces a tough task in his bid for glory – the former Hermitage Academy pupil and his doubles partner Alfie Hewett will have to get past top seeds Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer if they’re to retain the doubles title they’ve won for the last three years.

The French duo lost out to the Brits in the 2016 and 2017 Wimbledon finals and at last year’s US Open doubles final, but have since risen to the top of the world rankings.

Hewett, who defeated Reid in straight sets in the Queen’s Club final on June 23, will play reigning Australian Open and Roland Garros champion Gustavo Fernandes of Argentina in his opening singles match.

The British number one, who currently lies third in the world singles rankings, said: “I’m excited to be back playing back at Wimbledon and I’m really looking forward to the start of play on Thursday.

"Gustavo is a tough opponent and I played him here two years ago, so I know what to expect, but I will go out and give it everything like I always do and what will be will be.”

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