Helensburgh wheelchair tennis star Gordon Reid is set to get his 2023 season under way overnight as takes to the court in Australia.
The 30-year-old takes on Japan’s Yoshinobu Fujimoto in the first round of the Victoria Wheelchair Open in Melbourne around 1:30am (GMT) on Tuesday, January 10.
Fujimoto, 46, won two ITF titles last season, finshing the year with a world ranking of 56.
If successful, Reid will take on his doubles partner, and number one seed, Alfie Hewett, in the second round.
The world number 14 will be looking to make a strong start after a challenging 2022 season which saw him grapple with a wrist injury for much of the year.
He overcame the injury just in time for last year’s Wimbledon, reaching the quarter-final in the men’s singles and falling to Gustavo Fernandez and Shingo Kunieda in the doubles final alongside Hewett.
A flare-up at the US Open in September, however, caused Reid to retire after dropping the opening set of his first-round match against Spain’s Martin de la Puente.
The Victorian Open runs until Saturday, January 14, finishing up in time for the start of the Melbourne Wheelchair Open.
Reid’s opening round opponent for this tournament is yet to be confirmed.
The world’s tennis stars will see out the month at the Australian Open, with the wheelchair competitions running from Tuesday, January 24 to Saturday, January 28.
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