ITF

ITFWorld // WINTER 2018 11 "I am so proud but such an accolade does not happen without my team and supporters and I thank them whole- heartedly" S H I N G O K U N I E D A Shingo Kunieda of Japan is ITF World Champion in the men's category for the eighth time, having first been honoured with the accolade more than a decade ago in 2007. "I am really happy to be ITF World Champion for the eighth time in my career, especially after battling with an elbow injury in recent years," said Kunieda. "I am so proud but such an accolade does not happen without my team and supporters and I thank them wholeheartedly. "To be ITF World Champion is one of my biggest goals every year. I intend to continue working hard to ensure I win more titles and build towards Tokyo 2020, which is a home Paralympic Games for me." The 34-year-old was a dominant force on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour during 2018, winning two Grand Slams – Australian Open and Roland Garros – and finishing the year with a commanding lead at the top of the rankings. Kunieda now holds 22 Grand Slam singles titles following his exploits over the past 12 months, although a Wimbledon crown still proves elusive having bowed out of the 2018 tournament in the quarterfinals following defeat to Gustavo Fernandez. But two Grand Slams in 2018 was hardly a bad return. His success in Melbourne was the ninth Australian Open singles title of his career, but first since 2015, and was achieved with victory over France's Stephane Houdet in the final. Kunieda had already signalled his intentions Down Under by winning his first tournament of year at the Sydney Wheelchair Tennis Open, while he also prevailed at the Daegu Open before stoking Japan's triumph at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Apeldoorn, Netherlands. A seventh title on the clay of Roland Garros arrived in June having progressed through the main draw with victories over Stefan Olsson, Gordon Reid and Fernandez in the decisive clash, although the Argentinian would have his revenge at SW19. Further success followed at the British Open before he snared his third successive singles gold medal at the Asian Para Games, while he and compatriot Takashi Sanada also triumphed in the doubles. However, Kunieda was denied the perfect ending to the year by Belgium's Joachim Gerard, who beat him in the final of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. Nevertheless, Tokyo-born Kunieda ended the year with a healthy win-loss match record of 43-9. "It's been a crazy year for me," said De Groot. "It's great to have such incredible results after training so hard. I am looking forward to working even harder in 2019 and to continuing to make progress in all aspects of my game." At one stage during the season, De Groot claimed victory in six of seven singles tournaments played, winning the ITF Georgia Open, Cajun Classic, BNP Paribas Open de France and British Open as well as the Australian Open and Wimbledon. During this period, De Groot also contributed to Netherlands chalking up their 30th BNP Paribas World Team Cup title in 33 years of the women's event at the 2018 competition in Apeldoorn. In a season of success, it was not often that De Groot succumbed in the semifinals of an event, but she did so at the US Open USTA Wheelchair Championships, before bouncing back in style a week later at the US Open. She defeated Yui Kamiji in the final, while she also beat the Japanese in the final of the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Orlando to end the year on a considerable high. By the end of the campaign, her win-loss match ratio read 40-4. De Groot's ITF World Champion accolade continues the tradition of Dutch prowess. In the 28 years that a women's wheelchair ITF World Champion has been crowned, six winners have emanated from the Netherlands and they have combined to win the award a staggering 24 times. De Groot has joined an esteemed list that includes Chantal Vandierendonck, Monique Kalkman, Esther Vergeer, Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen. During the summer, Alcott once again joined forces with Davidson to power Australia to their second quad title in three years at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup, before further glory followed towards the end of the year. Alcott overcame Wagner, Great Britain's Andy Lapthorne and American Bryan Barten in the round-robin phase of the US Open, before dispatching Wagner in the final. Then came the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters in Orlando, with Alcott again prevailing and sealing the world No. 1 ranking in the process. He progressed to the final without dropping a set, and recovered from a set down to beat Lapthorne in the decisive clash to seal his first title at the year-end singles championship. Alcott, who closed the season with a 28-3 win-loss match record, is the first Australian recipient of an ITF World Champion accolade in any division of wheelchair tennis since David Hall won the final of his six awards in 2004. SHINGO KUNIEDA

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