Tokyo Paralympics: Gordon Reid 'heartbroken' after doubles finals defeat
- Published
Hewett and Reid have been the dominant doubles force in the sport over the last couple of years
Paralympic Games on the BBC |
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Venue: Tokyo, Japan Dates: 24 August-5 September Time in Tokyo: BST +8 |
Coverage: Follow on Radio 5 Live and on the BBC Sport website |
Britain's Gordon Reid has described his Paralympic men's doubles final defeat with Alfie Hewett as "the toughest loss of his career".
The pair lost out in a dramatic third-set tie-break to France's Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer.
But Jordanne Whiley created history by winning her first individual Paralympic medal when she beat Dutch rival Aniek van Koot for singles bronze.
Whiley came through 6-4 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 and will now focus on Saturday's women's doubles final alongside Lucy Shuker.
Reid and Hewett, who hold all four of the Grand Slam doubles titles gave everything against the French, who had also beat them in the final in Rio five years ago.
But in a match which featured some top-quality play from both pairs, it was Houdet and Peifer who came through 7-5 0-6 7-6 (7-3).
"I'm heartbroken," said Reid, who will face his doubles partner for singles bronze on Saturday.
"We came in here in such good form. We let ourselves down a little bit in the first set, we played the occasion and not the match.
"We recovered really well. Then the French guys came back. We played to win until the end and the points didn't come our way.
"It's going to take a long time to get this match out of our heads."
Whiley revealed that she had beaten four-time Paralympic medallist Van Koot despite picking up a minor leg injury during one of her service games.
"I honestly thought I wasn't going to win after I had a small injury in my leg. But I just kept fighting and fighting," she said.
"It means everything. I've never been on the singles podium before and this is everything I've worked for here. I'm just so happy."
The 29-year-old, who made her comeback to tennis in 2019 after two years out around the birth of her son Jackson, said she had already acknowledged the three-year-old's support from back home.
"I just gave him a wave. It's all for him, so I know he'll be proud," she said.