The Brits targeting Australian Open success in wheelchair tennis

Gordon Reid, Alfie Hewett, Lucy Shuker and Andy Lapthorne all carry British hopes into the second week of the Australian Open as the wheelchair tennis draw gets underway.

All four now know their potential pathway to the trophy at the first Grand Slam of the season after the draw took place on Margaret Court Arena on Monday.

In the men's division Alfie Hewett's singles opener will be against world No 1 and defending champion Shingo Kunieda. Gordon Reid has last year's runner-up Stephane Houdet waiting for him at the other side of the net.

British No 1 Lucy Shuker faces a tough challenge in the first match of her 2019 Australian Open campaign having been drawn against defending champion Diede De Groot in the women's draw.

In the quads division Andy Lapthorne will go head to head with the USA's David Wagner in the first of three round-robin matches.

Shuker: I'll fight to the end

Shuker has a habit when it comes to the Australian Open of coming up against world number ones in her openers. This year is no different with the Dutch De Groot her opponent.

But after their meeting last week at the Melbourne Open, Shuker is feeling confident in her tennis ahead of the tournament beginning on Wednesday.

"Last week when we played I had a point to go 5-2 up in the first set against her so actually it shows that I was playing some good tennis," Shuker told Sky Sports.

"I then went on and lost the match but to have got to that point against Diede shows that my tennis is going in the right direction - she's No 1 in the world at the moment and for a reason. She's a tough player, she's definitely a force to be reckoned with.

"I'll fight to the end though and who knows this little T4 Paraplegic might just do some damage."

For Shuker, somebody who is as good an ambassador for the sport off the court as she is on it, playing on such a grand stage is about more than just winning a match or a trophy.

"I'm here because I love playing tennis and for me that's one of the biggest things and I hope by people seeing us playing here it encourages others to take up the sport," she added.

Lapthorne: The doubles is a big one for me

In 2018 we never got to see a 'Lappo vs Wags', as the head to head between Britain's Lapthorne and world No 2 Wagner is known on the tour, at the Australian Open.

But this year it's back and it's one of the first matches of the quad division round-robin stages.

"I've got a good record against him here at this place and that always gives you a little bit of confidence and makes you feel a bit more comfortable," Lapthorne said.

In fact before last year's walkover handed Wagner the win, you'd have to go back to the 2013 final to find the last time Lapthorne was beaten by Wagner at Melbourne Park.

"Even in years past when I've actually been knocked out of the event before we've played and I've had to play him in the last round robin match I've still managed to win so I'm looking forward to it," he added.

However, Lapthorne's focus is not just on the singles competition and trying to get his hands on what would be his first Australian Open singles title.

He said: "The doubles is a big one for me as well this year as I wasn't quite myself last year in terms of my hand, which meant that me and David lost that title, so it's going to be a big thing for us to try and regain it this year."

Reid: I feel happy with my tennis and where I am right now

For Reid returning to the place where he won his first Grand Slam singles title in 2016, as well as a doubles title in 2017, is always special.

"It's an awesome place for all tennis players to come and I'm glad to be back," he said. "It's the first slam of the year so everyone's buzzing and ready for it."

In his opening match he'll face Houdet, who he beat in his last meeting on a Grand Slam stage at Roland Garros in 2016, and the world No 7 is not underestimating the challenge.

Speaking at the draw, he said: "You look at the top guys and they are all tough to beat, there's no easy draws at a slam. Stephane is in good form, he's just won the singles at the first Super Series of the year in Bendigo so he's playing well.

"I feel happy with my tennis and where I am right now though and I get a couple of days now to get used to the courts here and hopefully I'll translate that good tennis into match play here."

Hewett: I've prepared differently to how I normally would

On the other side of the men's draw British No 1 Hewett is giving us all a sense of deja-vu as he prepares to take on Kunieda, the player he faced in the final of the 2018 US Open.

Hewett said: "I knew coming into the Aussie Open after taking some time away that my ranking had slipped to three and so I would come in unseeded so I could have faced anyone in the top eight.

"It's definitely going to be a challenge because it doesn't get much tougher than Shingo. The US Open and in St Louis before that went in my favour when we played but we're now a few months down the line so the past is in the past and it's what we do out here this week that matters."

But getting this third straight win over Kunieda in his quarter-final means a lot more to Hewett, as victory would also see him claim his first Australian Open singles victory.

He added: "It would mean a lot to me to get my first singles win here this year - it's a great place to be, I love it and this Slam is one of my favourites because it's got such a good vibe about it.

"To not have performed to the level I would have liked the previous two times I've been here has been a disappointment so I've prepared differently to how I normally would coming into Australia, even the way I've been training has changed, and a big reason for that is because of my past record."

'I'm really glad we can get on the same side of the court again'

With Hewett having taken some time out to see if a different way of preparing in the lead up will bring different on-court results at the first Slam of the year, it's seen Reid partner up with some new names on the doubles court for a few months.

However this week the reigning Wimbledon and US Open doubles champions will reunite and are aiming to go one better than their runners-up finish here last year.

"It's been a different challenge playing with different players that I'm not used to partnering with but it's been good fun and a great learning experience as well because I haven't done that for a while," Reid admitted.

"But I'm really glad we can get on the same side of the net again, if we can play our best tennis we've got a good chance of winning the title."

With Reid already having picked up two doubles crowns at the start of the season, Hewett knows the pressure is on from the first point of their doubles campaign.

"I feel like I'm the weak link now!" he said. "I think he's beaten the French more times in the last six months without me, than we have together in his whole four and a half years with me."