Hewett into singles semis but loses in doubles

Alfie Hewett has reached the men’s wheelchair singles semi-finals at the Australian Open by beating doubles partner Gordon Reid – but the British pair’s hunt for a seventh consecutive doubles title in Melbourne is over.

Top seed and world number two Hewett, 28, moved one step closer to defending his singles title by securing a 6-2 6-3 victory in one hour and 33 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

He won a second Australian Open singles title last year, which was also his 10th Grand Slam singles title overall.

Hewett will face Spain’s Martin de la Puente in the semi-finals, after the third seed defeated France’s Stephane Houdet 6-3 6-2.

But in the doubles, Hewett and Reid were beaten in a match tie-break, losing their semi-final 6-4 2-6 10-4 to Japan’s Tokito Oda and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez.

The British pair had won 18 of the previous 23 Grand Slam titles in the doubles format.