Sanada gives Tokyo 2020 hosts perfect start with opening win

Japan’s Takashi Sanada took centre stage on a weather-affected first day at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Tennis Event, posting the first match win at Ariake Tennis Park with a 6-1 6-1 victory over Netherlands’ Carlos Anker.

On a sweltering day in the Japanese capital, play was suspended on all outside courts for over six hours in line with the Extreme Weather Policy, with only the Centre Court schedule unaffected as the roof was closed on Centre Court.

The delays elsewhere ensured all eyes were on Sanada, including those of women’s world No. 2 Yui Kamiji, watching from the stands as her compatriot notched a hard-earned victory belied by the comfortable scoreline.

Anker, serving underarm from deep behind the baseline, grew into the contest and utilised his speed around the court to great effect in defence, only for a sting of game points to pass him by. Sanada was the aggressor throughout, learning to be patient after the first-strike tennis of the opener no longer proved effective.

“As the first Japanese player on Centre Court, I was very nervous from the beginning, and I’m so happy that I won the match,” Sanada said. “I think I’ve made a good start for the Japanese team.

“I’m very honoured that I can play in Japan – this is home. The difference from the last Paralympics is you can feel the people cheering for you, and of course there’s no time difference! I’m very happy that the Paralympic Games is held here in Tokyo.”

Centre Court also saw a dominant performance from China’s Ji Zhenxu, a quickfire 6-1 6-0 winner against 59-year-old former world No. 3 Martin Legner of Austria, before Dutch duo Niels Vink – over 40 years Legner’s junior – and Sam Schroder beat eight-time Paralympic medalist David Wagner and American partner Bryan Barten 6-2 6-1 in the quad doubles quarter-finals.

“We’ve had to wait five years instead of four, but I think that one extra year have us a lot of time to grow,” said Schroder after the pair’s Paralympic debut. “It does feel a little bit different because you’re inside and the lighting is different – that took a couple of games to get used to. But indoors, under the roof, it was a lot better than outdoors. It wasn’t very humid either – we’d like to play all our matches there!”

Argentina’s Ezequiel Casco had too much for Martyn Dunn, the Australian beaten 6-0 6-0, while Belgian No. 15 seed Jef Vandorpe eased to a 6-4 6-1 victory over Austria’s Nico Langmann.

With the top eight seeds in the men’s singles draw handed byes to the second round, their first clashes of the tournament emerged as the evening set in, with play on the outside courts resuming at 17:15 local time.

Slovakia’s Marek Gergely booked a second-round clash with top seed Shingo Kunieda after beating Greece’s Stefanos Diamantis 7-6(4) 3-6 6-0, while second seed Alfie Hewett will launch his medal bid against Poland’s Kamil Fabisiak, a 4-6 6-2 6-1 winner over Thailand’s Suthi Khlongrua.

No. 4 seed Joachim Gerard of Belgium will take on Casey Ratzlaff following the American’s 6-2 7-5 victory over Frederic Cattaneo, and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez, the No. 4 seed, will face Francesc Tur after the Spaniard defeated Suwan Banjob of Thailand 6-1 6-4.

In the remaining quad doubles quarter-finals, Mutsuteru Moroishi and Koji Sugeno ensured Japanese players posts four wins from their four matches late on Friday, earning the chance to take on top seeds and defending champions Dylan Alcott and Heath Davidson for a place in the gold medal match after beating Israel’s Yosi Saadon and Shraga Weinberg 7-5 6-2.

Britons Antony Cotterill and world No. 2 Andy Lapthorne will face Schroder and Vink in the second semi-final after easing past Korea, Rep’s Kim Kyu-Seung and Kim Myung Je 6-2 6-0.

The women’s doubles quarter-finals are also set after the first round was completed in Friday’s late action. Both Chinese pairs advanced with convincing victories, Huang Huimin and Huang Jinlian setting up a showdown with Japanese pair Yui Kamiji and Momoko Ohtani, while Wang Ziying and Zhu Zhenzhen are up against the other Japanese pair in the draw, No. 4 seeds Saki Takamuro and Manami Tanaka.

Two-time bronze medallists Lucy Shuker and Jordanne Whiley await South African duo Kgothatso Montjane and Mariska Venter, while Diede De Groot and Rio 2016 champion Aniek van Koot will take on RPC pair Liudmila Bubnova and Viktoriia Lvova, who fought back to beat French duo Charlotte Fairbank and Emmanuelle Morch 2-6 7-5 6-2.