A BRITISH birthday boy cut his hand open when his wheelchair crashed into the side of the court during a Wimbledon semi-final. Norfolk's Ben Bartram and Spanish partner Daniel Caverzaschi faced Japanese No2 seeds Tokito Oda and Takuya Miki in the men's wheelchair doubles. Oda and Miki claimed the first set 6-4, with the former serving in the opening game of the second.
But as Bartram pushed himself out wide to the left in an attempt to retrieve an angled Oda shot, he played the backhand before his chair collided into the rolled-up court covering at speed. The wheelchair toppled, sending the player celebrating his 19th birthday today over the green fencing surrounding the court. Bartram put his right hand down to break his fall - but in doing so managed to cut his playing hand.
After being helped up by Caverzaschi, he was clearly in significant pain as he shook it in agony, pressing various parts repeatedly amid fears he could have dislocated a finger. And the teenager needed the physio to come on to No3 Court for a medical time-out to clean up the open wound and check for any internal damage to the bones or ligaments. The commentator said: "Let's hope his grip hand hasn't been affected but that was a pretty heavy tumble.
"You've got man and machine to consider and he was not able to apply the brakes in time. BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKER S "The chair is considered to be an extension of the player but takes up so much more room and the stopping is not as instan.