Reid loses to Fernandez in final
Britain’s Gordon Reid lost to Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez in the men’s wheelchair singles final at the French Open.
The 24-year-old Scot, who was beaten 7-6 (7-4) 6-1, had been bidding for a second Grand Slam singles title of the year after his Australian Open victory.
“I lost to the better player. I struggled with my serve and that let him dictate the points,” Reid said.
He still has a chance of winning a title later in the day in the doubles.
Reid had led 4-2 in the opening set but Fernandez battled back and went 6-5 up before the Scot forced the tie-break, which he eventually lost.
The Argentine was the stronger in the second set, quickly racing into a 4-0 lead and there was no way back for Reid, who had won his last three matches against Fernandez.
“It’s been a good week to get this far, following on from Melbourne,” said Reid, who is ranked two places above Fernandez at four in the world.
“Obviously, I wanted a good result but I wasn’t good enough in the final.
“He had all the momentum in the second set.”
Reid and Japanese partner Shingo Kunieda face France’s Michael Jeremiasz and Stefan Olsson of Sweden later on Saturday as they bid to retain the doubles title they won last year.
British women’s number one Jordanne Whiley will also be in action in the women’s doubles final with Japan’s Yui Kamiji against top seeds Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen of the Netherlands.
Reid is hoping his experiences in Paris will help him perform well at the inaugural wheelchair singles events at Wimbledon in July.
“It’s a different style of play, which probably suits me better,” he said,
“I learned a lot from Melbourne and I’ve probably learned a few things today about what not to do.”