Paralympics: Gordon Reid reveals how he's been living in isolation; Stephen Clegg's bonus; 'devastated' Scott McCowan

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid of Team Great Britain compete against Shingo Kunieda and Takashi Sanada of Team Japan in the Wheelchair Tennis Men’s Doubles semi-final.

But British wheelchair tennis player Gordon Reid revealed he's been living in isolation since arriving at the athletes' village at the Paralympics.

Defending champion Reid is through to the quarter-finals of the men's wheelchair tennis singles while he and partner Alfie Hewett reached the final of the men's doubles with a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Japan' s Shingo Kunieda and Takashi Sanada.

Last week the team confirmed a member of the wheelchair tennis support staff had tested positive for Covid and was isolating at a government approved facility in Tokyo.

Reid was not identified as a close contact but the British team applied an extra layer of rules, insisting he didn't leave his room outside training and competing.

“We were in a car park outside the village for five hours not knowing if we were going to be let in and I've been in isolation since last Monday," he said.

“To be honest, I Face Timed my mum at 1am in the car park thinking that was it, it was pretty stressful.

“Since then we’ve lost count of the number of negative tests. They had to find a balancing act between helping us be able to prepare and compete but also keeping everyone safe and making sure nothing spread anywhere.

"I missed one day of training but the team have done everything they can to make things run smoothly. They've been brilliant and I understand we've got a massive team of athletes in loads of sports and it's not worth taking any risk and I'm just happy to be playing."

Reid and Hewett will be looking to complete a Golden Slam of men's doubles victories in the days ahead after winning at the Australia Open, French Open and Wimbledon. They'll head for Flushing Meadows from Tokyo but are determined to upgrade their silver medal from Rio, with France's Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer their opponents in a repeat of the 2016 final.

"I think it's just adding desire, adding excitement, because we enjoyed Rio, we loved getting to the final there, but losing that one hurt so we don't want to experience that again," added Reid.

"I feel like we've improved so much since then and worked so much on our partnership that we've done everything we can to give ourselves a good chance."

Stephen Clegg promised big things in Friday's 100m butterfly and is setting the bar at a world record after a second surprise medal in the 100m freestyle

Having won bronze in the 100m backstroke, the Newcastleton swimmer repeated the trick in the freestyle and lowered his own British record to 53.43.

His impressive Paralympic meet continues after he emerged from his Games debut at Rio 2016 without a medal.

With two bonus gongs in his back pocket, Clegg is hoping to bring down his own world record of 56.75, that he swam earlier this year, in his final individual race on Friday.

"That’s another event I wasn’t really expecting to medal in," said the 25-year-old.

"Hopefully the fact I'm in personal best form for events I'm not training in too much is a good sign.

"It’s a good omen for the event I’ve been completely focused on these last three years.

"I finally achieved the world record this year, so my set up was to not sit back on it, and focus on trying to do it again here and push it back as far as I can. I'm really, really excited to swim it."

Scott McCowan admitted he needed to rally after an agonising tie-break defeat in his boccia semi-final with Greece's Grigorios Polychrondis.

The 30-year old from Ayrshire looked to be defeated until a final end comeback forced extras but after coming out the wrong side of that, vowed he'd be doing all he could to leave with a medal.

"I gave it everything out there and I'm devastated," he said.

"That's the best in a tournament I've ever played but ultimately, it just wasn't enough. Also the tie break was really close and it didn't go my way. I think it could have been a different story but that's how the game goes.

"I've just got to bounce back - there's nothing else for it. I reckon the bronze medal match will be quite good actually so I'm going to tap into that and I know I can easily win a medal so I'm determined to come back fighting."

Elsewhere, there was disappointment for cycling duo Finlay Graham and Stephen Bate on the first day of road events at the Fuji International Speedway.

Strathpeffer’s Graham missed out on a medal in the C3 time trial by just two seconds in an event won by British team-mate Ben Watson, while Moray’s Bate crashed out of the B time trial on the second of three laps.

He and pilot Adam Duggleby sat fourth at the end of the first lap but came unstuck in a heavy accident.

Scots Robyn Love and Jude Hamer saw their wheelchair basketball campaign ended after a difficult week in Tokyo. Just one group stage win over Australia is all they'll have to show for their efforts and China brushed aside Great Britain's women's team in a one-sided quarter-final.

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