Paris – South African wheelchair tennis quad ace Lucas “Twister” Sithole and Dylan Alcott captured their first French Open title in doubles competition on team debut.
The pair played magnificently and stunned top seeds Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne both from Great Britain 6-1 6-4 to claim their fourth crown this year playing together.
It completed a remarkable week for the pair, who did not drop a set in the entire tournament.
In the Quads Singles event, World no.1 and top seed David Wagner crashed the South African world No.4’s hope of taking the French Open title when he toppled Sithole 6-1 6-4 in the semi-final round. The two were meeting for the fourth time this season.
Sithole won his last clash against Wagner, in the final of the Airports Company South Africa SA Open in April and he earned a rematch after eliminating Shraga Weinberg of Israel 6-3 6-2.
“I love playing in the French Open and although I was hoping for a singles title, the doubles title is a huge achievement for me. It is always a great experience participating in the Super series tournament and I would like to thank the game sponsor, Airports Company South Africa for the opportunity and my doubles partner Dylan Alcott,” said Sithole.
“Alcott is the best partner and we play very well together, this is the beginning of great achievements with him,” Sithole added.