After rain and extreme heat stopped everything but one set of tennis being played on day one of the US Open wheelchair tennis draw, it was day two which saw the on-court action really hotting up.
And it brought with it success, and at least one win, for three out of the four British players.
Alfie Hewett started off the Brits’ winning ways in typical “Alfie Style”, coming from behind in both sets in his singles quarter-final against Belgium’s Joachim Gerard to take it 7-5 6-4.
Later that day he joined forces with compatriot Gordon Reid to finish their weather-interrupted doubles semi-final that had started 24 hours before.
The dynamic British duo went the distance with their now-trademark deciding match tie-break to seal the deal and now head into to their second successive US Open doubles final together after a 7-5 6-4 10-6 win over Shingo Kunieda and Gustavo Fernandez.
Andy Lapthorne bounced back from a tough opening loss against world No 1 David Wagner, to keep himself in contention for a place in the quad singles final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over another American Bryan Barten.
It wasn’t to be for Lucy Shuker though as she bowed out of both singles and doubles competition but can be proud of the fight she put up and tennis she played in what were some tough opening matches.
As we now head into the business end of the tournament, Sky Sports takes a look at what we learned on a frantic Friday of wheelchair tennis at Flushing Meadows.
Hewett still loves a comeback
Most players at 5-1 down in the first set and 4-1 down in the second would begin to feel that any chance of winning the match would have slipped from their grasp, but not Hewett.
In a quarter-final battle against Gerard that demonstrated his famous fighting spirit and exactly why he has reputation for never knowing when he’s beaten on the tour, he had to come from behind in both sets to book his spot in his second successive US Open singles semi-final.
“Jo played some unbelievable tennis today,” Hewett told Sky Sports. “He changed his game a little bit and it was a bit of a surprise at first so for me to be able to hang in there was a big confidence boost.
“I told myself in the changing room before I went on not to give up no matter what happened and once I was out there I didn’t really panic I just kept trying to do what I had planned and I really started to hit the ball well once I relaxed at 5-1 and 4-1 down.
“Fighting to keep myself in it in the way I did today is something I always try to show on court and I’m really happy about the win today.”
It’s not just about the tennis
Hewett hasn’t just been enjoying the matchplay though while he’s been out in New York, as soon as he got off the plane, he took a trip to Times Square in his downtime to hear the Lullaby of Broadway.
“When I first got here, after all the cancelled flights and delays, it was straight there,” he said. “I was sitting watching the show thinking I’ve actually got to play tennis in two days and I was completely lost in the moment.”
And after the British No 1 had enjoyed a bit of musical theatre he decided to have a go at it himself in a Frozen-style sing-off with his brother, however he’ll admit Idina Menzel doesn’t have anything to worry about as there’s no danger of the Hewett brothers releasing their own version of ‘Let it Go’.
“It’s the fun that counts, right,” Hewett joked.
Lapthorne keeps himself in contention
Going into day two there had never been two quad singles round-robin matches played in the same day at the US Open, but because of extreme heat measures being put in place for the wheelchair draw until 5pm and then a thunderstorm halting proceedings just 90 minutes later on day one, there has now.
Day two showed us just how competitive top-level quads tennis is at the minute, with three out of the four players in the draw still able to make it to Sunday’s singles final, and among them is Britain’s Lapthorne.
The morning saw Wagner come out on top of the British No 1 in straight sets but later in the day Lapthorne scored a straight-sets victory of his own against Bryan Barten.
“It was a good first set against Bryan,” Lapthorne told Sky Sports. “After the morning I wanted to come out and try and play some better tennis and I did that.
“I lost of bit of concentration towards the end of the second set which let him back in but I refocused and got through it, it’s always nice to get a straight set win under your belt.”
And Lapthorne goes into his all-important final round-robin match against the current leader of the pack who clocked up two wins from two on Friday, Australia’s Dylan Alcott, with a recent straight sets victory over him at last weeks Super Series event in St Louis.
“It’s always nice to have a big win under your belt against someone before you play them in a big match,” he said. “It’s a different tournament and slightly different court surface here though but I’m going to give it my all and try to do the same again.”
Hewett and Reid aren’t giving up those match tie-breaks
Before the first ball was hit you could probably predict a match-up between Britain’s Reid and Hewett and the Japanese/Argentinian combination of Shingo Kunieda and Gustavo Fernandez would be decided on a match tie-break and they didn’t disappoint.
In what was a tough match for both pairs, physically and psychologically – the suspensions in play meant they had to play singles matches in between the end of the first set and the start of the second – the Brits came through on match tie-break and made sure they kept their title defence hopes alive.
“It was a tough match but we wanted to stay strong when we came out again for that second set,” Hewett said.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match Reid added laughing, “We went 2-0 down at the start though Alfie.
“We’ve had some tough matches against them in the last couple of years and we’ve managed to get some through some tight battles when we are not playing our best tennis so to come out today and grind through for that win is big for the confidence levels.
“When we are playing well we know we can storm through teams but when we’re not on our A-game that’s when it’s more of a challenge, we rose to that challenge today and it’s great to be in another final together.”
A rivalry will return
By booking their spot in the men’s doubles final Reid and Hewett also ensured the rekindling of one of the sport’s biggest rivalries which has not been seen on a Grand Slam stage since the Australian Open at the beginning of the year, GB versus France.
“It’s been a while since we’ve played each other in the Slams,” Reid said. “It’s always good to go against Stephane [Houdet] and Nico [Peifer] and I think we’re consistently the best two teams most of the time.
“To be able to challenge them again in a slam final it’s going to be a good test.”
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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports. But first, we will be across the final major of the year in New York as the US Open right through to the final with live blogs, reports, features and reaction.
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