Shuker wins Paralympics opener

Somerset's Lucy Shuker breezed through to the last 16 of the women's wheelchair tennis event at the London Paralympics.

Shuker, who trains at the Blackbrook Tennis Pavilion in Taunton, beat Italy's Marianna Lauro in straight sets at Eton Manor.

It means she has matched her achievement at her Paralympics debut in Bejing four years ago, when she reached the round of 16.

The 32-year-old, from Trull, was the first British woman in action at the start of the singles competition.

Seeded eight for the tournament, Shuker had a shock in the opening game when she dropped her serve.

But she quickly rallied, breaking back serve and taking a 3-1 lead against her unseeded opponent.

Shuker dropped her serve in the next game, but then went on to wrap up the set 6-2 in 28 minutes.

The second set was one-sided, with the Somerset player winning the first five games. Lauro held her serve at the third time of asking in the set, but Shuker closed out the match 6-1.

Shuker served six aces to her opponent's none, and managed 31 winners to Lauro's seven.

A former county badminton player before being injured in a motorcycle accident in 2001, Shuker won the Daegu Open in South Korea earlier in the year.

She won her maiden singles title at the 2010 Belgian Open, and has reached the Wimbledon Doubles final three times.