IT was heartbreak for Helensburgh's Gordon Reid on Sunday as the former Hermitage Academy pupil missed out on a first US Open men's wheelchair singles final.

Reid, 31, had defied expectations by winning through to his first ever singles final at Flushing Meadows - but he found fellow Brit and long-time doubles partner Alfie Hewett too tough a nut to crack on the Louis Armstrong Stadium court, with the current world number 2 winning 6-4, 6-3.

It was the first time the pair had ever met in a Grand Slam singles final - though they did face each other in the gold medal match at the Paralympics in Rio seven years ago.

Reid secured the early break in both sets of the title decider, but Hewett put together three games without reply to lead for the first time in an opening set during which there was very little between the players, who are both supported by the LTA’s Elite Wheelchair Programme.

However, a net cord intervened to give Hewett set point and a double fault from Reid ended the set.

Hewett went on to open up a decisive 4-2 lead in the second set before wrapping up victory in the 41st career match between himself and Reid after an hour and 29 minutes.

While Reid suggested in his on-court post-match interview that he didn’t feel that he’d played his best tennis during the final, Hewett applauded his doubles partner, who was contesting his first singles final since 2021 at one of the four majors.

“It’s not easy playing your doubles partner in a Grand Slam final," Hewett said, "and I just want to congratulate you (Reid) on a great week and for getting back to where you belong, in these finals.

“I really hope wheelchair tennis continues to grow and becomes more available to more people, because it’s a fabulous sport to play.”

Reid, who was unseeded for the tournament, battled his way through three matches to reach the final, starting with a straight sets win over Alex Cataldo of Chile before coming from a set and 4-0 down in one of his best singles performances for years to beat Spain's Martin de la Puente 1-6, 7-5, 7-5.

A 6-0, 6-3 win over Stephane Houdet of France saw Reid reach his first Grand Slam singles final since Wimbledon two years ago.

However, the epic last eight win over de la Puente, in a match lasting for two and a half hours, came at a cost, with Reid returning to court later that same day for the men's doubles semi-final - in which he and Hewett lost 5-7, 6-7 (8-10) to Houdet and Japan's Takashi Sanada in two hours and 39 minutes, ending the Brits' hopes of a second calendar Grand Slam of their doubles career.

Having beaten the world's number one duo and tournament top seeds, Houdet and Sanada went on to win the wheelchair doubles title, beating the Japanese duo of Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday's final.