Taylor and Wagner to participate in historic Australian Open 

There’s not much that Nick Taylor and David Wagner haven’t achieved in their legendary Quad wheelchair tennis careers, but when the American duo takes part in an Australian Open event that begins on Sunday, they will again be a part of the sport’s history.

The 2021 Australian Open is notable in the all-time annals as it will be the first Grand Slam to offer an eight-player field in the Quad wheelchair division, making it equal with its men’s and women’s wheelchair counterparts. Previously, the field was limited to four players: often, the top three in the ITF/UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour’s rankings and a wild card.

“A lot of us have been advocating for it, and as one of the seasoned veterans of the tour, it’s been something that’s been a dream of mine to just see our division grow,” world No. 4 and 24-time Grand Slam winner Wagner told usta.com from Melbourne on Thursday.

“It’s something that’s so much bigger than me and me in this sport. I’ve just wanted to see the division grow, inclusion of more players, and equality across the board between our men, our women and our Quad division. It’s just huge. It’s a great opportunity… and I think it just speaks volumes to what our push has been, all the players, for so many years.”

Wagner earned direct entry to his 14th Australian Open by ranking, while Taylor, ranked No. 16, was awarded the draw’s wild card following the withdrawal of world No. 9 Robert Shaw of Canada, the initial selection, due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is his first Grand Slam appearance since the 2015 US Open.

“The expanded field is probably the first step towards why I even had a hope of getting in,” Taylor added. “David and I have been players who’ve worked for our entire careers on the growth of the Quad division specifically, and all we’ve ever wanted to work towards is being equal, to just be given the same that everyone else has.

“David’s been playing about 20 years and I’ve been here 25, and if I talked about how it was 25 years ago compared to now, you wouldn’t believe it. It was so different. This is a huge step and I hope the other Grand Slams are able to do it as well.

“In the Quad division, we might not have as many players, but at the top of the sport, there’s just as much parity as there is in the men and the women. The eight players, all of them can compete with each other — there’s absolutely no doubt. I think it’s absolutely the right move.”

With two seeds in the eight-player draw, world No. 1 Dylan Alcott and world No. 2 Andy Lapthorne, the American pair is unseeded in singles. Wagner will face Lapthorne, his doubles partner, in the first round, while Taylor will face 18-year-old world No. 6 Niels Vink of the Netherlands. He is also entered in doubles with Japan’s Koji Sugeno.

The Americans, who have captured 11 Slam doubles titles together, as well as a record 11 year-end Masters titles and three Paralympic gold medals, will face each other in the first round of doubles as well.

“David and I went for about 12 to 15 years where, if we were both in an event, we played together,” Taylor said. “But really since 2016, he’s had his ranking where he’s played all the Grand Slams and I haven’t. There’s been a lot of situations where we could play together in, say, St. Louis [the week before the US Open], but he’s playing with someone else at a Grand Slam that I’m not going to, it wouldn’t make sense. We’ve played each other a couple of times now since then.

“At lead-up tournaments, it might not feel that weird, but rolling up at a Grand Slam… this is the first time I’ve ever not played with him. That will be different.”

The Australian Open wheelchair tournament runs from Feb. 14-17.