GORDON REID thanked the “die-hard” supporters who cheered on the most successful partnership in the history of Grand Slam tennis at Wimbledon on Sunday.
The former Hermitage Academy pupil and his long-time doubles partner Alfie Hewett chalked up their latest title with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) win over the Japanese duo of Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki in exactly two hours on Court 3 on Sunday.
Their 21st Grand Slam doubles victory, and their sixth in eight appearances at SW19, saw them surpass the tally of most Grand Slam doubles titles won by one partnership, overtaking the 20 titles shared by the partnerships of Althea Louise Brough and Margaret Evelyn Du Pont, and Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.
Reid told the crowd: “I know it must have been a tough decision between us and watching Carlos (Alcaraz) and Novak (Djokovic) but we really appreciate the support – you guys are the die-hards.
“You guys made a great atmosphere which is always special and it really drove us to turn things around in the second set.”
Back-to-back breaks against Miki and Oda’s serve gave the Brits a strong platform in the opening set.
Tightly poised at 5-4, 2016 singles champion Reid kept his cool on serve – winning four straight points from 0-15 down to take a one set advantage in the championship decider.
The Brits had the chance to take an early break against Miki’s serve in the second serve, but after the Japanese pair held, momentum shifted in their favour.
Much like their opponents in the opener, Oda and Miki clinched successive breaks en route to a 5-2 lead, before Hewett had to call for a medical timeout for some treatment on his forearm.
The Brits followed the break with renewed energy. After breaking Miki once again, they continued to pick on the 35-year-old’s forehand as they saved five set points to level at 5-5.
With the teams having exchanged breaks at the back end of the set – they moved into a tie-break, where the Brits showed their experience in the big moments.
From 3-2 up, Hewett and Reid took four consecutive points, closing out on a winner through the middle of the court, to get their hands on the Wimbledon trophy for a sixth time.
“It’s been a memorable day – definitely the best day of my life,” said Hewett having won his second final of the day.
“Today is the stuff of dreams. It was emotional earlier to clinch my first singles but I wanted to come back with Gio and obviously defend the title.”
The British pair, whose attention now turns to preparing for the Paralympics in Paris later this summer, didn’t drop a set on their way to the championship – the 24th Grand Slam doubles crown of Reid’s career – although they didn’t have things all their own way.
Having defeated Martin de la Puente of Spain and Belgium’s Joachim Gerard 6-1, 7-5 in the last eight, Reid and Hewett made a similarly storming start to their semi-final, winning the first set against the Dutch duo of Tom Egberink and Maikel Scheffers 6-1 – but they had to dig deep in the second, which went to a tie-break which the British duo eventually edged 14-12.
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