26 July 2011
Peter Norfolk has returned to the world No. 1 quad singles ranking this week following his victory in Saturday's quad singles final at the 22nd British Open Wheelchair Tennis Championships a Nottingham Tennis Centre.
After going to Nottingham as world No. 2, Norfolk secured a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 over American David Wagner to win his fifth British Open title since 2003 and has subsequently moved 25 points ahead of Wagner in the new world rankings published today (Monday) by the International Tennis Federation.
"It's very satisfying to have won my fifth British Open and to have now gone back to No. 1 as a result of my performance in Nottingham," said Norfolk, who missed last year's event in Nottingham while he was on paternity leave.
"David went above me for six weeks after I missed last year's British Open ahead of the birthday of our daughter and I ended 2010 world ranked No. 2 after a return to No. 1 last September. So it's nice to be back in the top spot for the first time this year and I look forward to more exciting and close competition for the remainder of the season," added the two-time Paralympic champion, who has been the year-end No. 1 quad singles player for five of the last eight seasons.
While Norfolk has regained the world No. 1 spot in this week's quad singles world rankings, Andrew Lapthorne, another of the Tennis Foundation's Wheelchair Tennis Performance Programme players, has also reached a career high quad singles ranking.
Lapthorne, who reached his first British Open singles semi-final in Nottingham before losing out to Wagner, has moved up one place to No. 4 this week.