Britain’s Jordanne Whiley retained her Wimbledon title on Sunday after she and Japan’s Yui Kamiji beat Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the wheelchair women’s doubles final.
It was sweet revenge for the No1 seeds after they were beaten by the Dutch pair in last month’s French Open final and it gave them a fifth grand slam title together, having won all four in 2014.
Whiley and Kamiji led by a set and 3-0 but had to withstand a bold fightback from their opponents, eventually grabbing the crucial break for 5-3 in the decider and serving out for victory. “I did feel the nerves in the second set and I was feeling a bit sick as we’ve never actually led like that in a final. We’ve always come from behind before,” Whiley said.
“This was one of the best matches we’ve ever played and I’m really proud of both of us for doing so well.”
From next year Whiley will have the chance to show her strength in singles after Wimbledon finally caught up with the three other grand slam events, announcing that from 2016 singles will be added to the schedule. Organisers had always said that it was too difficult for singles players to “push” the chairs on the slippery grass but that and the erroneous excuse that there were “not enough courts” appear to have been overcome. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our sport at the highest level in this country,” Whiley said. “Wheelchair tennis is a fantastic sport, it’s great fun to watch and to play.”
Hopes of a British double were dashed, though, when Scotland’s Gordon Reid and Michael Jeremiasz of France were beaten 7-5, 5-7, 6-2 by Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez and Nicolas Peifer of France in the men’s final.
It was the fifth defeat in a Wimbledon final for Reid, who said the effects of a marathon semi-final had left them struggling. “Today we didn’t play the big points as well and Fernandez and Peifer were just on too good form,” he said. “I can’t wait to come back next year to play both singles and doubles at Wimbledon.”
