Helensburgh tennis hero Gordon Reid hopes that his Wimbledon success will inspire more people to take up the sport.
Vale born Reid, 29, and partner Alfie Hewett scooped their 12th Grand-Slam title together at the All England Club - with Reid losing out to Belgium’s Joachim Gerard in the singles final, having dispatched of number one seed Shingo Kunieda at the quarter-finals staged.
And after impressing in front of a home crowd, Gordon now hopes that more youngsters will be inspired to pick up a racket.
He said: “The sport’s come a long way. It’s been a lot of fun to be a part of and hopefully we can keep building on that.
“Hopefully these kind of situations, these kind of scenarios are what inspires more people to play.
“The odd person here or there might have watched on the TV or been here over the week, that could be the start of their journey in the sport.”
After a 7-5, 6-2 victory against Tom Egberink of the Netherlands and Joachim Gerard in the doubles, Reid lost out 6-2, 7-6(2) to Gerard in the singles final - despite the backing of a vociferous home support.
Despite disappointment in the singles final, Gordon was proud of his showings as he begins preparation work for the Paralympic Games in August.
He continued: “I thought, in general, my level was high.
“I think he played the big points really well. There were a few break opportunities at the start of the first set. Maybe I could have returned a little bit better on a couple of those, but I felt like he played most of the big points well today.
“I changed the tactics slightly when I was 4-1 down in the second set, trying to use a little more flight in the ball, trying to cause him problems that way. I could have maybe tried that a little bit earlier in the match.
“It’s been a good week. I’m proud of the way I played this week. I thought I competed well.
“The doubles was special with Alfie. To regain the title here and keep our streak going, was really, really good for us.
“I feel like I’m in good form. Obviously it wasn’t my day in the singles, but I feel like I’m playing good tennis.
“I feel physically in a good place, as well. So, go home, take some rest, play the British Open in a couple weeks, then all eyes on Tokyo after that.”
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