Britons to meet in French Open first round
French Open 2018 |
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Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 27 May-10 June |
Coverage: Daily live radio and text commentaries on BBC Radio 5 live, the BBC Sport website and app. |
Defending champion and world number one Alfie Hewett will play doubles partner Gordon Reid in the wheelchair singles first round at the French Open.
It is the first time the British pair have been drawn together in the opening round of a Grand Slam.
Hewett, 20, won their only previous encounter at a major – in the semi-finals of last year’s US Open.
And he had won five matches in a row against Reid, 26, before losing to him in the Japan Open last month.
Last year’s triumph in Paris was Hewett’s first Grand Slam singles title, and he has many happy memories of that day.
“I remember walking, when I first got here, through the aisle by the court where I played the final last year,” Hewett told BBC Sport.
“I turned to my coach, and I said: ‘That’s where history was made – that’s where my first Grand Slam singles title was.’ It was a big, big step in my career.”
Reid, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2016, feels he is growing in confidence.
“I’ve been putting in some good work over the last two or three months,” he said.
“I feel like I’m on that upward curve. Tennis is so much about confidence and you get your confidence from winning matches and I’ve done that a lot recently.”
In the doubles competition, Reid and Hewett will play Frederic Cattaneo of France and Stefan Olsson of Sweden.