Top wheelchair tennis players line up for SA Open

Men’s, women’s and quad singles events will be contested at the second Super Series event on the 2014 ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour. 29 Apr 2014
Imagen
A picture of a man in a wheelchair playing a backhand during a wheelchair tennis match

France's Stephane Houdet playing a backhand during his semi-final against the Netherlands' Ronald Vink at the 2013 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships.

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By ITF

The event begins on Tuesday (29 April) at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Five of the world's top-10 ranked men, six of the world's top-10 ranked women and seven of the world's top-10 ranked quad singles players are lining up for the Airports Company South Africa SA Open, the second Super Series event on the 2014 ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

The event begins on Tuesday (29 April) at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Frances’ world No. 2 Stephane Houdet is the defending champion and top seed in the men's singles, while Great Britain's world No. 3 Gordon Reid, the runner-up to Houdet in 2013, is the second seed this year.

Dutchwoman Marjolein Buis won the first Super Series title of her career at last year's tournament in Johannesburg and Buis, currently world ranked No. 6, is the third seed for the women's singles this year. Germany's world No. 1 Sabine Ellerbrock is the top seed and, like Houdet, will bid to follow up victory at the event.

All of this week's current world top four ranked quad singes players fill the top four places for the quad singles, as Great Britain's world No. 3 Andy Lapthorne sets out to try to retain his crown, having also won his first Super Series title in Johannesburg last year.

After contesting the Gauteng Open final last weekend, the USA's world No. 1 David Wagner and South Africa's world No. 2 Lucas Sithole are again the top two seeds. Therefore, they can only meet in this year's final, should they both progress that far, after Sithole beat Wagner for the first time in his career in last year's semi-finals.