Norfolk out of tennis singles
Peter Norfolk was beaten by Shraga Weinberg in the wheelchair tennis
Peter Norfolk's bid to defend his quad singles title ended with defeat against Israel's Shraga Weinberg.
Norfolk, known as the Quadfather, won the opening set 6-3.
But Weinberg fought back to take the second 7-5, as Norfolk's serve faltered resulting in 12 double faults. Weinberg took the final set 6-0 to book a place in the semi-finals after two hours and 16 minutes.
Norfolk, who won singles gold and doubles bronze in Beijing, must now hope that he can claim gold in the quad doubles.
He and Andy Lapthorne face American duo David Wagner and Nick Taylor on Wednesday.
Norfolk, who has the racquet taped to his hand, described his performance as "appalling, once my grip had gone."
He added: "I thought Shraga played okay. The big change was in my grip and not hitting it back in court. If you don't hit it in the court you can't win.
"Once it (the grip) goes there's not a lot you can do. It was a combination of tape and loss of strength when you go to swing. But it's no excuse."
Norfolk now has to pick himself up for Wednesday's doubles encounter.
He added: "I should be ready for that. We'll be depressed tonight but it's another match tomorrow. It's always a good match against the Americans. It's almost a consolation, but I'm disappointed I didn't get into a medal position to defend my (singles) title. I came up short."
