Wheelchair tennis : Reid & Hewett, double duty for the British duo

Reid: a huge challenge awaits

Their last meeting had ended with Gustavo Fernandez retiring at one set all, but ahead of this semifinal clash in Paris, Gordon Reid had promised a full, hard-fought battle from start to finish. And the Brit kept his word. Off to a flying start, Reid dictated the pace early, dominating the rallies and piling pressure on Fernandez’s serve throughout the first set. The Argentinian, pushed to his limits for more than half an hour, raised his level in the second but eventually cracked under Reid’s relentless precision and determination.

The world No.5 sealed his place in the final after an impressive performance. "I’m really happy, not just with the win but with the way I played," Reid said. "My first set was excellent, I managed to execute exactly what I wanted. The second was more of a battle, with lots of opportunities on both sides, but I finished really strongly. After struggling against him in recent years, it feels good to turn things around a bit!" In Sunday’s final, the Paralympic silver medallist will face his longtime friend and doubles partner, Alfie Hewett.

The top seed made short work of Spain’s Daniel Caverzaschi (6-1, 6-0). "Obviously, I know Alfie very well, we’ve played doubles together for years," Reid smiled. "Our head-to-head isn’t exactly in my favour, especially recently, but I hope I can play better than I have in our last few matches. Facing him in singles is one of the toughest challenges in our sport, so I’ll do my best to be ready for it."

A dramatic battle to close the day

Following the singles matches, Spain’s Martin De La Puente and the Netherlands’ Ruben Spaargaren advanced to the doubles final with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Frenchmen Frédéric Cattaneo and Guilhem Laget. After a one-sided first set, the home duo fought back bravely in the second before eventually falling short. "It was a great experience to take part in this new event," said Laget, who stepped in as an alternate. "We had a really good second set against one of the best pairs in the world. We don’t play together very often, but it usually works well when we do. It’s a pity we were a bit overwhelmed at the start."

But the day’s most thrilling encounter was yet to come. In the final match on court 2, newly singles finalists Reid and Hewett teamed up to face Daniel Caverzaschi and Stéphane Houdet. The Franco-Spanish pair started strong and stayed toe-to-toe in the second set, only to lose it narrowly after missing key chances.

That meant a super tie-break, a nerve-wracking, high-intensity showdown. Houdet and Caverzaschi held two match points at 9-7 but were undone by unforced errors, before a final double fault from the Spaniard handed victory to the British duo (11-9).

"That was an epic match," Hewett said courtside. "It finished 11-9 in the third, we had no breathing room at all. They made it really tough for us and kept changing the pace. We’re just so relieved to have come through."

Now, for Reid and Hewett, the focus turns to recovery, because Sunday promises to be just as intense.