Quad duo reach Paralympic final
3rd September 2012TWO-TIME Paralympic champion Peter Norfolk is guaranteed another medal on the biggest stage of all after reaching the quad doubles final at London 2012.
The 51-year-old, nicknamed the Quadfather, teamed up with Andy Lapthorne to cruise through their semi-final against Japanese duo Shota Kawano and Mitsuteru Moroishi.
Norfolk and Lapthorne, who are the No.1 seeds at Eton Manor, will now face American duo David Wagner and Nick Taylor following their 6-2, 6-2 win.
Norfolk will now pick up at least a silver medal to add to his Paralympic collection and said: "I was really nervous but I'm so happy to win and at least go one better than in Beijing when I won bronze.
"Andy was definitely the dominant player and he kept us in there and hit some great shots.
"The whole Games have been absolutely amazing so far and I'm so proud to be a part of it and have secured a medal."
The win for Lapthorne means he puts his disappointing first round singles defeat behind him and picks up his first Paralympic Games medal at the age of 21.
Lapthorne lost in the first round of the singles to Swede Anders Hard and said: "It doesn't feel real that all these people are here to see me and Pete play tennis.
"These Games have been the best sporting event I've ever been to.
"Pete is a legend and has been there and done that. I found out in the singles how hard it is to win a medal here but he has shown how it's done.
"We'll work so hard to get the gold and I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd win a Paralympic medal."
Meanwhile, Lucy Shuker is just one win away from a shot at a Paralympic Games medal following a comprehensive victory.
The 32-year-old is the last remaining British player in the women's half of the draw and continues to fly the flag on home soil following another win.
Shuker defeated American Emmy Kaiser 6-0, 6-2 in the second round and will now face Dutch World No.3 Jiske Griffioen in the last eight.
"To be fair to Emmy I think the crowd got to her a bit and obviously they were right behind me so I loved the experience on Centre Court again," said Taunton-based Shuker.
"I felt more at home out there than I did in my first round and the conditions were just perfect for tennis with very little wind and beautiful sunshine.
"I know that I'll be facing a tough opponent in the next round and I'm ready for that step up in class.
"I will just play my own game, keep to my strategy and with the crowd behind me, I'm confident that I can win."
There was more British cheer in the form of Marc McCarroll and Gordon Reid who reached the quarter-finals of the men's doubles competition.
The duo beat Belgian pair Mike Denayer and Joachim Gerard to progress to the final eight teams courtesy of a 6-4, 6-3 win and now face France's Frederic Cattaneo and Nicolas Piefer.
McCarroll said: "It got a bit tense out there but with all that support, it got us back on track. We know we can compete against the French pair in the next round and we've taken them close before.
"It really doesn't get any better than playing tennis with this crowd in the sunshine. It really helps us and hopefully everyone will come back out to support us again on Wednesday."
Reid, who is still in the men's singles draw, added: "We know our matches will get tougher now but the form we're in, we can beat anyone.
"I definitely play my best tennis under pressure and I think you could see that at the end of the match when they were coming back at us but I pulled out some big shots."
Great Britain's second doubles pairing didn't fare as well though as Alex Jewitt and David Phillipson succumbed to top seeds Stephane Houdet and Michael Jeremiasz 6-0, 6-2.