Britain’s men’s wheelchair doubles pair Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid lost in straight sets to Joachim Gerard and Stefan Olsson in the Wimbledon final.

Defending champions Hewett and Reid, seeking a fourth successive title, were beaten 6-4 6-2 by the 2019 Australian Open winners in one hour, 25 minutes.

Earlier, fellow Briton Andy Lapthorne was defeated in straight sets by Australia’s Dylan Alcott in Wimbledon’s first quad wheelchair singles final.

The top seed won 6-0 6-2 in 50 minutes.

Alcott – now a nine-time Grand Slam singles champion – and Lapthorne, both 28, won the quad doubles title on Friday.

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“Dylan was far too good, he’s probably the best player I’ve ever played,” said Lapthorne, who was out for four months with a broken wrist before Wimbledon.

“If he’s on like that and I’m not, then fair play to him. I’m trying so hard right now not to do an Andy Murray [and cry].

“I thought my career was over after Australia, and even though I got my behind kicked, hopefully next year I can come back and put on a better show.”

Quad wheelchair tennis made its competitive debut at Wimbledon this year having appeared as an exhibition event in 2018.

“Andy is an absolute legend, but more important he is a great bloke,” said Alcott.

“To come out at Wimbledon and get to play on the grass, for a kid who grew up in a wheelchair, it was a dream come true.”

‘They deserved that win’

Three-time winners Hewett and Reid were out-played by Belgium’s Gerard and Sweden’s Olsson in a repeat of the 2018 final at SW19.

The British duo won 6-1 6-4 on that occasion, but were broken when tied 4-4 in the first set on Saturday before their opponents raced clear with a double break in the second.

“They fully deserved that win and I hope they celebrate well tonight,” said 21-year-old Hewett.

“To play on Court Three when we thought we were on Court 14 last night is amazing.”

Reid, 27 – winner of the singles title in 2016 – added: “Congratulations from us to Stefan and Jo, they played a great match.

“A big thanks to Wimbledon and the LTA, they have helped grow the game. But most of all a massive thanks to everyone for filling the seats today, especially my crew in the corner.”

Reporting by Katie Falkingham at Wimbledon and Harry Poole