2020 Paralympics: Gordon Reid on emulating Rangers & the weight of expectation

Spending years rueing finishing second best. The weight of expectation after unparalleled success. Then rising to the challenge without spectators.

A lot of wheelchair tennis player Gordon Reid's journey of late has mirrored that of Rangers, the club he passionately supports.

"If I can emulate them and go unbeaten even with no fans, I'll be a happy boy at the end of the Paralympics. That's the aim," he tells BBC Scotland.

The 29-year-old knows the taste of victory all too well now. As a singles competitor, he took gold at the 2016 Paralympics - the same year he won his two Grand Slam singles titles - but there was heartache for him and doubles partner Alfie Hewett in Rio.

They lost out to Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer in the gold-medal match.

• Hewett & Reid win British Open doubles

• Wheelchair tennis: all you need to know

Silver at a Paralympics may spell success to many, but - like his boyhood team - Reid was not content with being the best of the rest and has spent a long five years waiting for the chance to put things right.

"It doesn't really need to be discussed between us. Ever since we lost that final in Rio, we've both had our eyes set on one step further in Tokyo. It's a big goal for both of us," he says with a look of determination.

"We're really happy with the way the last couple of years especially have gone, with the work that we've put in behind the scenes and the hours we've put in.

"We've got to try to show up and do it another time in Tokyo, and I think we've put ourselves in a really good position to try to achieve that."

'The more you win, the more you're expected to win'

Reid and Hewett have dominated wheelchair tennis doubles in recent years, with seven consecutive Grand Slam titles since 2019.

The pair are the first men to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time and have claimed 12 major titles in total.

The weight of expectation is something Rangers had to contend with last season, and Reid believes he and his partner can use that pressure as a way to get them over the line they failed to cross in Rio.

"With winning usually comes expectation," he says. "The more you win, the more people expect you to keep winning, that's the way it works. It's important for us to use that as a driving force forward rather than to hold us back in any way.

"The most important thing for us is to not get complacent and to keep going through with our routines. We're going to continue with those same strategies and that will give us our best chance to succeed."

Despite doubles domination, Reid has struggled to recapture his success of 2016 in the singles, making three Grand Slam finals since but not winning any titles.

However, much like he did in Rio, he heads into this Paralympics in promising form, ready to emulate Rangers and break his long wait for a major title.

"I'll be going in ranked number five in the world, and the fifth seed, so I'm definitely not the favourite," he admits. "But I've beaten the four guys ahead of me - all of them this year so far.

"I know I'm capable of beating all the guys in the draw there. I will need to cause a couple of upsets to repeat what happened in Rio, but I think I've got the ability to do that. I feel good, I feel ready."