Reid reaches semis at Roland Garros
5th June 2013
British No. 1 Gordon Reid made a winning Grand Slam singles debut at Roland Garros on Wednesday, beating world No. 9 Michael Jeremiasz of France 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach Thursday's semi-finals against either defending champion Stephane Houdet or Gustavo Fernandez.
The Helensburgh player, world ranked No. 6, kept pace with Jeremiasz for the first four games of the opening set at the second Grand Slam of the year before the Frenchman reeled off four games in succession. However, Reid gained an early break to lead the second set 3-1 and maintained his cushion to force the final set.
Reid edged the early exchanges in the decider and led 2-1, before Jeremiasz broke to move ahead 3-2. However, just when it seemed like the match might come down to final set tie-break Reid earned himself two match points before finally sealing the victory.
“I’m delighted to win my first singles match at a Grand Slam,” said Reid. “It was quite an up and down match. He had a good start, but luckily I managed to turn it around and played some good tennis. I’m normally never nervous, but I was nervous today and he had a whole crowd behind him, so it was difficult conditions to play in. But once I relaxed I was pleased with the way I played.”
Reid, who is making his Grand Slam debut in singles competition after twice playing in the men’s doubles at The Championships, Wimbledon, will now face the winner of the quarter-final between French world No. 2 Houdet and Argentina’s world No. 4 Fernandez.
In the last month Reid has beaten both players on clay, defeating Houdet for the second time this year to win the Internazionale d’Italia wheelchair tennis event held alongside the Rome Masters, while beating Fernandez a week later to seal fifth place for Great Britain at the 2013 BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Turkey.
Reid was one of two players on the Tennis Foundation’s Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme in action on the first day of wheelchair tennis competition in Paris. World No. 5 Lucy Shuker threatened to cause a big upset in her opening women’s singles match after coming from 3-1 down to take the opening set against Dutch world No. 1 Aniek van Koot 6-4. Shuker again fought back from 4-0 down in the third and deciding set, but Australian Open champion van Koot held on for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Shuker and Reid still have doubles semi-finals to come, with Shuker partnering Dutchwoman Marjolein Buis, with whom she reached the women’s doubles final at the Australian Open. The second seeds will play Germany's Sabine Ellerbrock and Sharon Walraven of the Netherlands.
Reid and Dutchman Ronald Vink are also second seeds in the men’s doubles and will face Fernandez and Stefan Olsson of Sweden in their semi-final.