After contesting a string of Super Series semi-finals, Scheffers began his first men’s singles final in fine form by breaking Dutch compatriot Ronald Vink in the fifth and seventh games of the first set and forcing Vink into an increasing number of errors as he took the opener 6-2.

Vink responded by claiming the first break of the second set to move 3-1 ahead and although Scheffers had the chance to break back in the seventh game, he missed the opportunity, allowing Scheffers to stretch his lead to 5-2. 

Two games later second seed Scheffers clinched the set to force a decider.

The lead changed three times in the first five games of the final set with Scheffers saving three break points to take a 3-2 lead.

This extended to 4-2 thanks to Vink serving a double fault on game point and with Scheffers now in the ascendency and profiting from a series of big forehand winners, he went on to drop just one more game and wrapped up his first British Open title 6-2 3-6 6-3.   

Scheffers, a regular hitting partner of his compatriot and women’s world number one Esther Vergeer who won her 10th British Open women’s singles title yesterday, admitted he was delighted to secure victory in Nottingham against a stellar field.

He said: "It’s my first Super Series and it’s been a long-time coming but now I’ve got it, I’m very happy.

"I’ve never even got to the semi-finals at the British Open before so this is really great. 

"It was a good match and it’s always hard playing Ronald as we know each other so well."

Meanwhile, there was fantastic news for Britain’s quad player Andrew Lapthorne (pictured) who, in pairing up with Sweden’s Johan Andersson, won his first Super Series title in either quad singles or quad doubles competition.

The quad doubles final began superbly for second seeds Andersson and Lapthorne as they dropped just the fourth game en route to taking the opening set in 13 minutes against top seeds Sarah Hunter of Canada and David Wagner of the United States. 

However, Hunter and Wagner need just the same amount of time to race through the second set without reply.

Lapthorne’s dream of a first Super Series title seemed to be disappearing as Hunter and Wagner went 3-0 ahead in the final set, but Andersson and Lapthorne then started to find gaps in their opponents’ defence put together an amazing run of six games in succession to clinch a remarkable 6-1 0-6 6-3 victory.

A stunned Lapthorne said: “Right now I’m a bit speechless.

“The first two sets seemed to whizz by and I think they were waiting for us to rediscover our form in the final set, which thankfully we did. 

“Once we got back to 3-3 I was pretty confident we had them and we never looked back.”

Another British victory in the women’s doubles final proved elusive for Lucy Shuker and her partner Florence Alix-Gravellier of France as the second seeds were beaten 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 by top seeds Aniek van Koot of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Aniek van Koot.

Sevenans and van Koot secured an immediate break before Alix-Gravellier and Shuker came back to level the contest at 3-3. 

But the Belgian-Dutch partnership went on to clinch another break as they negotiated the final three games of the first set.
Alix-Gravellier and Shuker secured a double break of their own as they took a 5-2 second set lead and although their opponents managed to retrieve one break, the Anglo-French duo held on to force a final set.

However, with Alix-Gravellier due to retire from competitive tennis later this year, a dream end to what is likely to be her last British Open proved beyond her and Shuker as both players had their serves broken en route to Sevenans and van Koot wrapping up victory.  

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2010: Dutch master claims tenth British Open title
July 2010: Dutch Queen in line for tenth British Open title
July 2010: Whiley enjoys best win of career to reach semi-finals
July 2010: Whiley produces shock at British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships
July 2010: World’s elite in Nottingham for British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships