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The tight and rugged nature of top-level wheelchair tennis proved exactly that for Australia as a rising star and a Paralympic ultra-veteran both exited in the first-round at Roland-Garros.
But doubles competition awaits for six-time Paralympian Ben Weekes and countryman Anderson Parker, the 26-year-old one-time highly-ranked junior who’s in the early stages of his return to the sport and can look ahead with optimism.
Advancing to the second round was a close-run thing for Parker on a rain-interrupted day on the famed Parisian clay courts. His singles campaign ended with a 7-5, 6-4 loss to Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco.
In both sets Parker grabbed the ascendancy, leading 4-0, but Casco refused to drop his bundle. Both players had the added burden of juggling a mid-match three-hour break thanks to the persistent rain.
“Talking with [my coach] highlighted the fact that maybe I was rushing and trying to finish off the points to get that first set sort of cemented,” Parker said.
“Trying so hard to finish off points [sort of] put me back into my shell, and not hitting as relaxed as possible. My shots were very flat.”
Former world No.6 junior Parker became re-eligible for wheelchair tennis two years ago after a seven-year hiatus. A wildcard for the Australian Open was his in January and he’s viewing his Paralympic debut as a stepping stone to bigger things.
“Everyone is saying I’m looking better [as a player] from the six months since they’ve seen me at the AO [Australian Open] to here, it’s been a massive change,” said Parker, who born with talipes in his right leg, a congenital foot deformity that affects his ability to run.
“I think the biggest eye-opener for me is how much training it takes leading up to the Paralympics
“So for me it’s now about bringing that back to my training throughout the year.”
For Weekes, who boasts a Paralympic history dating back to Athens two decades ago, world No.19 Daniel Rodrigues proved a daunting proposition.
Weekes succumbed 6-0, 6-1 after he couldn’t quite capitalise on his early second-set revival against the powerful Brazilian.
“He was always going to be a tough opponent. He’s known as a really solid player, on clay especially,” said Weekes, who has incomplete paraplegia.
“He hits a big ball. It’s the kind of ball that I don’t see a lot when I’m training at home. It takes a while to adjust and find a tactic that can work.
“In the second set I started to get onto it a little bit, but still I couldn’t capitalise when I could have shifted the momentum a little bit in my favour.
“I felt Iike I was always trying to do something, but it didn’t really pay off.”
There’s no respite for Weekes as the two Australians play Rodrigues and his Brazilian teammate Gustavo Carneiro Silva in the men’s doubles first round on Saturday.
“Me and Andy have been training well together this week,” said Weekes.
‘We had a few good warm up matches against some of the other countries, and one of them was a similar team to the Brazilians.
“They have that one strong player who I played against tonight [Rodrigues], and there’s one who is a little weaker – we’ll try and target him and try and get some shorter balls that I can come forward on.
“I play a stronger game up at the net, so we’ll try and use that a little bit and Andy’s speed at the back of the court.”
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By: Scott Spits, Paralympics Australia
Published: 31 August 2024
