Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett will go for their fifth Wimbledon doubles title this weekend after their semi-final triumph on Thursday night.
Reid and Hewett, who will both be in singles semi-final action on Friday, were up against Martin de la Puente and Gustavo Fernandez, in a rematch of the recent French Open final the British partnership won 7-5 6-3.
Reid and Hewett were significant favourites to reach a 16th straight Grand Slam final together, having won all six of their previous meetings against Fernandez and De la Puente’s partnership.
But it was a rocky start for the all-British pair who spurned an early double break lead, being pegged back at 5-5 after holding a 4-0 lead.
However the duo were able to break again and eventually close out the opening set, before easing through a more comfortable second set to win 7-5 6-3 much to the delight of the Court 1 crowd.
“I think it was an amazing opportunity for us,” said Reid.
“We were absolutely buzzing when the schedule came out yesterday. We absolutely loved it – the atmosphere they created was a lot of fun.”
Hewett added: “It was an amazing court for us to play on and we had good memories from last year as well. I’m glad we could put in a decent performance today.
“It was completely different conditions to what we’ve been used to on the outdoor courts, especially with the roof and the heat. It felt like the ball was flying a bit more, so I think everyone was just trying to get used to it and adjust to the conditions.
“The quality really picked up towards the end of the second set and for us we stepped up another gear in the second set. We can take a lot of confidence – we did well.”
Reid and Hewett will be looking to regain the title after losing the final a year ago, and are up against unseeded pairing Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda – the latter the singles world No.1, who beat Hewett in the French Open final.
Reid commented: “We’ve both singles matches first, but once they’re done we’ll get together and preview the final.
“It will be a new experience for us to play Miki and Oda. It’s the first time as a team that we’re playing against them, so we’ll do our research and take in a good plan for the final.”
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