Wimbledon champion Jordanne Whiley defied a shoulder injury to beat world number one Jiske Griffioen in the semi-finals of the British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships in Nottingham.
Whiley, who
defended her ladies doubles crown at the All England Club five days ago,
ended Griffioen’s 20-game winning run with a 2-6 6-3 6-4 victory.
She will meet world number three Aniek Van Koot in Saturday’s final.
“I was in so much disbelief, so happy, that I burst into tears,” she said.
“I couldn’t breathe. I just couldn’t believe that I just took out the world number one, who has a seven-month winning streak, with one shoulder.
“And I’ve made my first ever Super Series final – it’s just amazing.”
The Birmingham-born-London-based star added: “It sounds strange, but I wouldn’t have won that match today if I wasn’t injured.
“Because I couldn’t hit the ball very hard and couldn’t serve like I usually do, it turned into an advantage because she couldn’t handle the slow balls.
“Also, it made me think ‘okay I can’t hit it hard so I need to place the ball exactly where I want it to go’ – that’s something that won me the match.
“If I can take out the world number one, then I can take out anyone. I’m definitely up for the challenge now.”
Meanwhile, Britain’s Andy Lapthorne defeated Australia’s world number one Dylan Alcott 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-4 to reach the British Open quad final on Saturday against Lucas Sithole of South Africa.
