Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett beaten in epic wheelchair Paralympic men's doubles final by French pair Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer; the contest lasted three hours and 25 minutes at Ariake Tennis Centre in Tokyo
Saturday 4 September 2021 13:24, UK
Wheelchair tennis stars Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett suffered further Paralympic heartbreak at the hands of French pair Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer following a dramatic three-set doubles defeat in Tokyo.
The British pair - beaten finalists in Rio - once again had to settle for silver medals at the end of a topsy-turvy encounter which the experienced defending champions snatched 7-5 0-6 7-6 (7-3).
Reid and Hewett overcame the setback of dropping the opening set to lead the decider 3-1 but could not capitalise before a tense tie-break went against them.
They will return to court on Saturday to face each other in the bronze medal singles match having lost semi-finals on Thursday.
"There's not tension at all - this is not new territory for us," Hewett said of Reid being both a teammate and a rival.
"To be honest, we enjoy it, it produces some great tennis when we play against each other because we do probably understand each other's game more than anyone else on the tour.
"He knows where I'm going, I know where he's going. It's almost a game of bluff in the end."
GB player Jordanne Whiley will seek to salvage singles bronze following a 6-4 6-2 last-four defeat to Dutch top seed Diede De Groot in the women's draw.
The 29-year-old will take on another player from the Netherlands, Aniek Van Koot, on Saturday with the final podium place at stake.
Whiley later made up for that disappointment by progressing to the doubles final with partner Lucy Shuker.
The bronze medal pairing from Brazil beat Chinese duo Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen 6-4 6-2 and will take on top seeds De Groot and Van Koot for gold.
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