Twenty two-time Grand Slam champion Gordon Reid is one of six major winners lining up for this week’s LTA Bolton Indoor ITF 2 wheelchair tennis tournament.
The British men’s number two aiming for a third men’s title at Bolton Arena, where play started yesterday in the second of two back-to-back world-ranking events on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour.
Reid is one of three Brits to have previously won two singles titles apiece in Bolton and after also finishing runner-up in the 2020 final the 31-year-old world number12 is hoping to make it a hat-trick this year.
“It’s great to be back in Bolton for the first time since 2020,” he said.
“I’ve got some great memories of playing here and I’m excited to be playing on home soil in front of a British crowd for the first time this season.
“With ITF 2 ranking points on offer it always guarantees a high standard of opposition and after contending with injury for much of 2022 I’m looking forward to putting myself in a position to challenge for the title this year.”
The Rio Paralympic champion’s rivals this year include three top-10 ranked players in the shape of Japan’s Takuya Miki, Spain’s Martin de la Puente and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Tom Egberink from the Netherlands
More than 100 players from 23 countries contest this week’s tournament, where British number one, Lucy Shuker, is top seed for the women’s singles as the world number 10 sets out to defend one of two titles she won at Bolton Arena last year.
Shuker won both the ITF 3 and ITF 2 titles in successive weeks 12 months ago, but with her absent from this year’s ITF 3 tournament honours went to the USA’s Dana Mathewson on Tuesday after the world number nine and reigning Wimbledon doubles champion beat French star Pauline Deroulede 6-0, 6-2.
Mathewson was part of an American double at the ITF 3 event, where Casey Ratzlaff beat Frederic Cattaneo of France 6-4, 7-5 in the men’s singles final and Slovakia’s Tomas Masaryk defeated top seed Ymanitu Silva of Brazil 6-4, 6-4 in the final of the quad singles, for players whose disability affects three or more limbs.
Both Masaryk and Silva will have Britain’s 15-time Grand Slam champion Andy Lapthorne to contend with at this week’s ITF 2 event as the two-time US Open singles champion bids to add to his 2016 and 2018 Bolton Indoor titles.
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