Issue link: http://itf.uberflip.com/i/441551
10 ITFWORLD WINTER 2014 F ollowing his return to the top of the wheelchair tennis rankings in 2013, ShINGo kuNIeDA had an even more dominant season in 2014 to firmly cement his position as the leading man on the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour. The Japanese lost just once in singles all year to finish with a win-loss record of 51-1, his most victories in a season since 2007. He won 12 tournaments, including all three Grand Slam wheelchair singles events to take his career tally of singles majors to 17. Kunieda's only defeat of 2014 came in the first tournament he played, in Sydney, where he fell to Gordon Reid in three sets in the semifinals. After that he went on a 28-match winning streak, during which he turned 30 and collected seven titles: the Melbourne Open, Australian Open, Rotterdam, Kobe Open, Japan Open, Roland Garros and the Open de France. At Melbourne Park, Kunieda defeated Argentina's Gustavo Fernandez 60 61 to lift the Australian Open trophy for the seventh time, and also won the doubles title with Stephane Houdet to remain unbeaten at the Australian Open in seven singles and doubles events played since 2007. Kunieda won his fifth Roland Garros title after saving three match points in the semifinals against Fernandez and defeating defending champion Houdet 64 61, avenging his loss to the Frenchman in the previous two finals in Paris. Kunieda's winning run came to an end at the Swiss Open in July when illness forced him to give a walkover to South Africa's Evans Maripa in the quarterfinals. But one week later he was back in force at the British Open, where he won the title at the start of a 21-match winning streak that was still active through the end of 2014. Kunieda was victorious at the US Open USTA Wheelchair Tennis Championships then collected his fifth US Open title, defeating Fernandez 76 64 in the Flushing Meadows final. In the closing stages of the season, Kunieda won the gold medal at the 2014 Asian Para Games in Incheon, Korea, where he was captain of Japan's team of 285 athletes. He signed off by capturing the year-end NEC Masters title in London without losing a set, defeating France's Nicolas Peifer 61 61 in the title match. In doubles, Kuneida went 29-7 during the season and collected eight titles, five of which were won in partnership with good friend Houdet. The pair captured three major titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. With 17 career Grand Slam doubles titles to add to 17 won in singles, Kunieda now owns a staggering 34 Grand Slam titles. By being named World Champion for a sixth time, Kunieda has matched the achievements of Australia's David Hall, who received the honour in 1995, 1998, 2000 and 2002-04. ITF WORLD CHAMPIONS M EN ' S W H E E L C H A I R W O R L D C H A M P I O N