Wagner, Taylor Win 10th title at Doubles Masters

American wheelchair legends Nick Taylor and David Wagner won their 10th quad title on Saturday at the UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Bemmel, Netherlands.

The duo came back after falling  in three tight sets in the round-robin portion of the tournament, 5-7, 7-5, 6-3, on Thursday to top seeds Antony Cotterill and Andy Lapthorne, both of Great Britain, before rebounding to reach the final against the same opponents. 

Wagner and Taylor, seeded second in the contest, turned the tables in the title match, defeating Cotterill and Lapthorne, 6-4, 6-3. It was a rematch of last year's final, won by the Brits, and gave the Americans their sixth Doubles Masters quad crown in the last seven years.

“It’s awesome," Taylor told ITFTennis.com. "We missed out on it last year against these guys and we really wanted to beat them this year and get that 10th title, so it’s huge.”  

Their most recent win in Bemmel extends the Americans’ record as the most successful partnership in Wheelchair Doubles Masters history and is another notch in an already highly decorated belt for the pairing. 

Wagner, who hails from Walla Walla, Wash., and Taylor, from Wichita, Kan., have been a reigning team in the game of wheelchair tennis for most of this century. The two have won three gold medals at the Paralympic Games as well as three Australian Open titles and seven crowns at the US Open Wheelchair Competition. 

“We just had a game plan that we stuck with, and we know it can work if we stick with it," Wagner said. "And that’s what we wanted to do, stick with the game plan.

"We prepared hard for that and we’re ready to give it our best every time and we showcased that today. We’re super excited to get our 10th title after 13 finals in a row, so you couldn’t ask for a whole lot more.”

Wagner, who is currently ranked world No. 1 in the quad division, will next compete in the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, which features the top six quadplayers facing off in the official ITF year-end wheelchair singles championship.