Sport

Wimbledon 2017: Reid and Hewett take wheelchair doubles title – again

Paralympic champion in singles, Paralympic runners-up in doubles, and now two-time Wimbledon champions – Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett were made to work for their victory but eventually came through in a third-set tiebreak to beat French duo Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer.

Rio 2016 singles champion Reid and the man he beat in that final, Hewett, once again teamed up on Sunday to renew their rivalry with Houdet and Peifer.

The Brits beat the Frenchmen in a third set tiebreak to win in SW19 a year ago, before Houdet and Peifer got their revenge in Rio last summer, downing Hewett and Reid 6-1 in a deciding set to win the gold medal.

But the Brits were not to be beaten again and bounced back from losing the first set on a tiebreak to eventually win 6(3)-7 7-5 7-6(3).

“Thanks to Nico and Stephane, the match was played in a great spirit and look at this crowd – they were amazing.

“I’ve been playing for 12 years and never once did I think we’d fill a stadium like this, especially when the women’s final was on Centre Court at the same time.

“The sport has grown massively and the more chance we have to play on these types of courts, the more we can inspire others to play the game – and hopefully be on Centre Court one year.”

Hewett was the star of the match, with his booming groundstrokes making telling blows and getting the duo out of trouble when they most needed it.

The Brits spurned a 4-0 lead in the second set before eventually going on to take it 7-5, and were forced into a tiebreak despite serving for the title at 5-3.

“It feels absolutely amazing, to do it in such a close battle as well against the French guys who just fought for every single point, even when they were 5-1 and 5-3 down,” said 19-year-old Hewett, the recently crowned French Open singles champion.


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