Doubles partners Reid and Hewett to battle for New York singles glory

Gordon Reid has accomplished so much in his brilliant wheelchair tennis career. The Glasgow native has been ranked No. 1 in the world in singles and doubles, has won four Paralympics medals, including gold at Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and has 22 Grand Slam doubles crowns to his name.

But one of the trophies to elude him is a US Open singles trophy.

That hole in his glorious CV may about to be erased. The unseeded 31-year-old has been on a tear this week at the US Open Wheelchair Championships, and on Friday he clinched a spot in his first US Open singles final.

Reid defeated long-time nemesis Stephane Houdet of France, 6-0 6-3 at Louis Armstrong Stadium to advance to Sunday’s final. He’ll play, fittingly, for the title against doubles partner and good friend Alfie Hewett, who also easily advanced to the last match.

Reid and Hewett have met 40 times, with Hewett owning a 26-14 edge.

“I’m not sure we’ll have dinner together (Saturday), but we’ll talk for sure,” Reid said with a big smile after his win. “We’ve played each other so much, know each other’s games inside and out being partners, so there’ll be no surprises.

“It's been a while since my first US Open, so it’s exciting to be in the final. Obviously it’s going to be a big challenge against Alfie, but that’s why you play and train, for these moments.”

Reid has been close to a singles final here at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, holding two match points in a semi-final against Hewett in 2021.

He said there’s no particular reason he hasn’t been able to break through here like at other events.

I’ve been close; there’s not one thing I can put my finger on,” Reid said. “But certainly enjoying it so far this year.”

Revenge certainly could’ve been on the mind of the 31-year-old Reid on Friday; he and Hewett came to New York aiming for a calendar Slam in doubles, having captured crowns in Melbourne, Paris and at Wimbledon.

But on Thursday Houdet and his partner Takashi Sanada upset Reid and Hewett, 7-5 7-6, to spoil their Slam dream.

“I’ve been on the other side of that a few times; you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth,” Reid said. “The big thing today was not letting it linger and I think me and Alfie did a good job of that.”

He came out incredibly strongly on Friday, crushing Houdet with forehand winners and keeping his opponent constantly moving quickly to retrieve shots. Reid broke serve twice in the first four games and raced to a 6-0 first set win in a mere 21 minutes.

After an off-court break, Houdet came out a little stronger, holding serve three times to three-all, but after Reid held to 4-3, the Brit broke in the very next game. Match point came on a let cord winner, but there was no luck involved in Reid’s win.

“I think playing on the bigger court helped me, because he (Houdet) likes to retreat a lot and I was able to move forward,” Reid said.

The other semi-final on Friday saw Hewett, the No. 2 seed, rout No. 3 seed Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina, 6-0 6-1, in 60 minutes.

“It’s what we train for, to produce performances like that on the big stage,” Hewett said. “I’m extremely lucky to be out here and compete in great stadiums like this.”

Now Hewett will be going for his eighth Grand Slam singles title (fourth here at Flushing Meadows, including a win in 2022), while Reid goes for his third.

Reid said he’s anxious to play Hewett again now that he’s fully healthy; Reid returned full-time to the tour in January after suffering a ruptured tendon in his wrist. Reid and Hewett did meet in the gold medal match at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, a match Reid won.

“I feel like I’ll be able to go out there and compete with guns blazing,” Reid said. “It’s just going to come down to who is more composed and is able to execute better on the day. I can’t wait.”

The women’s singles final is also set for Sunday, as no surprise, Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji won their semi-finals to set up another Grand Slam clash, their third of the year. De Groot is going for her third consecutive calendar Grand Slam.

In the women’s doubles final on Saturday, De Groot and Jiske Griffioen will take on Kamiji and Kgothatso Montjane. In the men’s doubles, Houdet and Sanada face Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda.

In the quad final, Sam Schroder and Niels Vink face Donald Ramphadi and Andy Lapthorne.

Click here for a full list of results from the US Open Wheelchair Championships.