Whiley reaches second Wimbledon final
6th July 2013Great Britain’s Jordanne Whiley has reached her second consecutive Wimbledon final after partnering Japan’s Yui Kamiji to victory in their doubles semi-final today at The Championships.
The pair defeated second seeds Lucy Shuker and Marjolein Buis 6-1, 6-2 in front of a packed crowd on Court 14.
The victory follows Whiley and Kamiji’s Super Series BNP Paribas Open de France title last week in just their second tournament together.
And it was the first time Whiley and Shuker had been on opposite sides of the net at Wimbledon after the pair finished runners-up together last year.
But with Rio 2016 still three years away the pair are gaining valuable doubles experience with other partners and it was British No.2 Whiley who came out on top.
“I’m absolutely delighted to reach the final here at Wimbledon again and I can’t wait to get back on the grass courts on Sunday for the final,” said doubles world No.7 Whiley.
“Yui and I haven’t played much together but we remain undefeated and we’re forming a really strong partnership.
“It was certainly strange having Lucy on the other side of the court but I had to put that out of my mind and just treat it like any other match.”
The duo will now face the all-Dutch partnership of Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen in the final after the top seeds won 6-3, 6-2 against compatriot Sharon Walraven and Germany’s Sabine Ellerbrock.
Shuker will be back in action with Buis on Sunday in the third place play-off and the doubles world No.3 is hoping for more British success.
“I’m obviously disappointed to have lost but it’s still great to have a Brit in the final and it says a lot about the strength of GB wheelchair tennis, especially with Gordon Reid in action tomorrow too,” added Shuker.
“I felt like I didn’t play that badly but Jordy and Yui played well tactically and probably have a bit more speed on the grass than we did.
“Hopefully we can have a few British wins on Sunday and end the tournament on a high ahead of the British Open Super Series in Nottingham the week after next.”