Britain’s James Shaw claims a straight sets victory over compatriot Antony Cotterill 6/1 6/0, as more history is made in the quads division at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham
There was a sense of excitement as the players came onto court two at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham today. History was about to be made and two British players – James Shaw and Antony Cotterill – were about to be part of it.
Playing in match that would be the first in a tournament that marked the first time a quad singles world ranking event would take place on grass outside of Wimbledon didn’t seem to phase either of them though.
And Shaw seemed right at home on the lawns of the Edgbaston Priory Club, his sumptuous slice coming out to play and causing a lot of trouble for his opponent, as he sped to a straight sets victory in a match that perfectly demonstrated why quad tennis is so often likened to a game of chess.
“It feels great to get the win, it’s the first time I’ve played on grass before yesterday so I didn’t really have any expectations coming into this week,” he told Two Bounce Tennis. “I didn’t even know I was playing until quite recently.
“I’ve been very busy coaching and going into schools and teaching kids so I haven’t really had a chance to hit too much so it was kind of a free hit for me today and I think I’ve started well.
“So just being here is really exciting and obviously winning that match topped it off.”
Eagle-eyed viewers would have noticed something new in Shaw’s game as well – he was using an underarm serve.
Although it’s not something that he says is going to become a full-time thing and is more to keep him on court while he fully recovers from an injury he picked up at the World Team Cup, Shaw did admit “it was really effective out on the grass”
Whilst the World No.27, along with compatriots Cotterill and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Andy Lapthorne – who begins his matches tomorrow – have become the first players in the quad division to compete here in Birmingham at a world ranking event as part of a three-way round-robin – Shaw’s belief is that this tournament can be a good showcase for quad division tennis and a step further towards the development of equal opportunities for the division.
And he was full of praise for the staging of this years tournament in Birmingham.
“It’s incredible!” he said. “It’s really important because we’ve been asking for it for a while to kind of have a level playing field between quad tennis and the open division in wheelchair tennis. So it’s really important.
“It’s like a step further to actually being on the same level and getting the same recognition as wheelchair tennis as a whole and hopefully a bit more recognition in tennis as a whole too – it’s a good thing.”
