Hewett and Reid Reach US Open Final with Statement Win

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid dragged themselves off the ropes and back into another US Open final, turning a grudge match into a statement win in New York.

Beaten by Gustavo Fernandez and Tokito Oda in last year’s men’s wheelchair doubles final, the British pair stared at the same opponents across the net again – and this time refused to blink. They dropped the opening set 4-6, absorbed the pressure, then ripped through the gears to take the second 6-3 and edge a tense match tie-break 10-7.

It was scrap, not spectacle, for long spells. Fernandez’s weight of shot, Oda’s court coverage, the memory of 2023 – all of it pushed Hewett and Reid to the brink. The response was exactly what has defined their partnership for nearly a decade: tighter angles, braver returns, and an unshakeable belief in the big points.

The pressure finally told in the match tie-break. Hewett and Reid tightened their targets, cut out the errors and seized the initiative at the net, closing out the comeback with the kind of ruthless composure that has become their trademark on this stage.

The reward is a shot at history. Already five-time US Open champions together, with an unbroken run of titles from 2017 to 2021, they now chase a sixth crown. Standing in their way in the final will be Spain’s Martin de la Puente and Ruben Spaargaren of the Netherlands, a rising partnership with the firepower to test even the most established teams.

For Reid, the doubles turnaround came as a sharp contrast to a brutal morning in singles. The Scot ran into top seed and defending champion Tokito Oda in the quarter-finals and was swept aside 6-1 6-0, a reminder of the Japanese star’s grip on the men’s game.

Hewett, though, kept the British singles challenge alive. Seeded second, the 28-year-old dismantled American Casey Ratzlaff 6-2 6-0 to reach the last four, underlining why he has already collected four singles titles in New York, the most recent in 2023. His command of the hard courts here remains as clear as ever.

There was disappointment elsewhere for British interest. In the quad doubles, Andy Lapthorne and South African partner Leon Els fell just short in a tight contest against second seeds Sam Schroder of the Netherlands and Jin Woodman of Australia, losing 4-6 6-3 10-8 in another match decided by the finest of margins.

So the stage is set again for Hewett and Reid. A sixth US Open doubles title on the line, a long-time partnership still hungry, and a chance to turn revenge into another chapter of dominance in New York.