Dutch duo end Whiley's hopes of gold (From Dudley News)

Dutch duo end Whiley's hopes of gold

6:15pm Thursday 6th September 2012 in Sport

Halesowen wheelchair tennis star Jordanne Whiley’s dream of Paralympic gold is over after defeat in the women’s doubles semi-final.

Whiley and partner Lucy Shuker were beaten 6-4 6-3 by Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffoen of the Netherlands at Eton Manor this afternoon.

Despite a spirited display, unforced errors at crucial moments proved costly for the British duo.

They will now face Thailand’s Sakharn Khanthasit and Ratana Techomaneewat in tomorrow’s bronze medal match.

Van Koot and Griffoen have been a constant thorn in Whiley and Shuker’s side this year, having got the better of the British pair in July’s Wimbledon final.

And though they triumphed once again, the game was far closer than previous meetings.

Whiley, who was dumped out in the first round of the singles competition, hit a number of fine winners under pressure but in the end the Dutch pair’s more consistent play won the day.

Speaking aferwards, Whiley said they would now concentrate on grabbing bronze. On a personal level, the Halesowen star will be out for revenge on Khanthasit, who beat her in the singles.

She said: "Aniek and Jiske are a top pair and we matched them a lot of the time. We came here to win a medal and I'm still confident we can do that.

"We will re-focus and do the crowd proud tomorrow.

”We've played well together this week but that was a tough one. I love playing with Lucy and we've built a great relationship as a pair.”

The British pair made the perfect start, breaking Van Koot in the first game and taking a 3-1 lead when Shuker was the first player to hold serve.

From there the Dutch upped their performance, reeling off four straight games to take an ominous 5-3 lead though they were denied taking the set at the first opportunity as Whiley and Shuker played super tennis to break Van Koot.

But Whiley was then broken for the third time as the Dutch claimed the first set 6-4.

Shuker’s serve was again broken in the second game of the second set and even though Van Koot couldn’t hold hers in the next game, neither could Whiley - despite a wonderful cross court winner - as the Dutch lead 3-1.

Still the British pair refused to give in and Whiley hit two superb winners to get things back on serve.

But with the score at 4-3, the Halesowen ace served three double faults to lose her serve once more, presenting Griffioen with the chance to serve for the match which she duly took.