Doubles joy in Tokyo for Whiley and Lapthorne

Jordanne Whiley and Andy Lapthorne both produced fine performances to win doubles titles at the Japan Open at the weekend.

Ickenham-based Whiley renewed her trophy-laden partnership with Yui Kamiji as they retained their women’s doubles title, beating top seeds Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot 6-1, 6-1.

“I was disappointed with my singles this week after going out in the quarter-finals, so I really wanted to win here with Yui in her home country,” said Whiley.

“It’s also an important win for me as I needed the points to stay in the world’s top four in doubles, so to produce such a good win over the current world number one pairing is great.”

Eastcote’s Lapthorne, meanwhile, teamed up with Jamie Burdekin to beat three-time Paralympic champions Nick Taylor and David Wagner 7-5, 6-2 in the quad doubles.

It was perfect preparation for the World Team Cup, which starts in Tokyo on Monday, with Lapthorne, Burdekin and Antony Cotterill aiming to repeat their victory from 2014.