Lapthorne and Whiley head four British titles in Atlanta
on 10-05-2014 19:06
Andy Lapthorne and Jordanne Whiley won the Quad Singles and women’s Singles titles at the Atlanta Open on Saturday as British payers on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme completed the latest ITF 1 Series event on the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour with four titles.
Lapthorne beat world No. 1 David Wagner of the USA for the second time this year to win the Quad Singles title. After finishing runner-up to Wagner in Atlanta in 2013, world No. 3 and second seed Lapthorne produced a stirring comeback in Sunday’s final to earn a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(1) victory after a final set tie-break.
"I’m very pleased that I could win a tough final today." Andy Lapthorne
“That one’s for my auntie who passed away yesterday. I know she was looking down on me today. I’m very pleased that I could win a tough final today,” said Lapthorne.
A year on from winning her first ITF 1 Singles title in Atlanta, Whiley justified her top seeding this year as the world No. 6 secured straight sets wins over the USA’s Mackenzie Soldan and her Chilean doubles partner Francisca Mardones to set up Saturday’s final against former two-time champion Kaitlyn Verfuerth of the USA. Whiley went on to beat former world No. 10 Verfuerth 6-2, 6-2.
“I’m delighted to retain both my titles here in Atlanta. It was nice to play Kaitlyn and win like I did because the last time we played each other in 2012 I lost in three sets, so it’s nice to see big improvements on that,” said Whiley.
On Friday’s penultimate day of play Whiley clinched her second successive women’s Doubles title in Atlanta. After partnering fellow Brit Lucy Shuker to victory in 2013, Whiley paired up with Mardones this year and the top seeds earned a 6-2, 6-3 victory over American second seeds Emmy Kaiser and Marianne Page in the final.
There was also victory in the men’s Doubles for British No. 2 Marc McCarroll and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez. McCarroll and Fernandez, the top seeds, sealed a thrilling victory in the final, battling back from a set down to beat second seeds Yoshinobu Fujimoto of Japan and Maikel Scheffers of the Netherlands 2-6, 6-2, (10-8) following a deciding championship tie-break. McCarroll bowed out to Scheffers, the eventual champion, in the men’s Singles semi-finals.
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