Whiley woe in Wimbledon final (From Halesowen News)

Whiley woe in Wimbledon final

1:10pm Tuesday 10th July 2012 in Local Sport

HALESOWEN serving sensation Jordanne Whiley helped make history as she reached a Wimbledon final.

Whiley and partner Lucy Shuker became the first all-British wheelchair tennis team to reach a final at the All England Club.

But they couldn’t claim the title in Sunday’s final on Court Three, as Dutch duo Jiske Griffioen and Aniek van Koot proved too strong and ran out 6-1 6-2 winners.

The British duo had upset the odds last Friday by defeating second seeds Sharon Walraven and Annick Sevenans 7-6(5), 6-3 to become the first all-British wheelchair tennis team to reach a final at Wimbledon.

Whiley and Shuker have subsequently both moved up in this week’s women’s doubles world rankings, with Whiley jumping two places to number eight, just one place below her career best doubles ranking achieved last September.

Despite their final disappointment, Whiley remained upbeat.

She said: “It was my first time in a final at Wimbledon and I won't forget the experience.

“The crowds were amazing and hopefully it's made the British public more aware of what a brilliant sport wheelchair tennis is, whether to watch or try yourself.”

Whiley and Shuker now move on to this week’s ITF 1 Series Swiss Open in Geneva, where they are both seeded for the singles and doubles, before heading to next week’s British Open in Nottingham, the last Super Series event before September’s London 2012 Paralympic Games.