It would not be a Grand Slam in 2021 if Diede de Groot of the Netherlands was not picking up silverware before fending off questions about a Golden Slam. Both she and the questioners at her post-match press conference lived up to their billing.

Half an hour or so before the questions rained in, De Groot had claimed the 11th Grand Slam singles title of an increasingly special career after defeating first-time finalist Kgothatso Montjane of South Africa 6-2 6-2.

The 24-year-old now has all four Grand Slams in her possession for the second time, having previously achieved the feat after topping the podium at Roland Garros in 2019.

Having already lifted trophies at the Australian Open and in the French capital this season, De Groot’s third crown at the Wimbledon Championships – her first here since 2018 – means she will head to the Paralympic Games in Tokyo on the brink of history.

Never before has the calendar Grand Slam or Golden Slam been achieved in wheelchair tennis and De Groot, who won silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, was reluctant to discuss its potential. She instead preferred to focus on the here and now.

“It feels really great to be Wimbledon champion,” she said. “I think a lot of people think, ‘Diede, she is good on grass’. I think that’s because this is where I won my first Grand Slam. But I don’t necessarily think I’m really good on grass.

“For us wheelchair tennis players, it’s very difficult and you need to have the right mindset. I did that well today and I’m happy just to play well and play my own game, even though that’s not really a grass game.”

Given De Groot’s majesty on court, the showdown was always going to be a tough ask for Montjane, who became the first black woman from South Africa to contest a Grand Slam singles final.

She did, however, surge into a 2-0 lead in the first set only for De Groot to turn the tables and win six successive games to take a firm grip on proceedings. She was equally as clinical in the second set and romped home largely unscathed.

But with the clash taking place on Court No. 1, there was a wider significance to the contest as for the first time in history a wheelchair tennis match was staged on one of Wimbledon’s show courts.

“I was a little bit surprised yesterday when I saw the schedule,” she added. “But it was so great to go there and to see how many people were watching us. The noise they made was fantastic.

“For us as wheelchair tennis players, we don't always have that many people cheering for us, so that was great also. Like I say, I was a little bit surprised but, at the same time, very excited.

“I had a few people coming out to watch me. They had the opportunity and they cheered for me. It's just great to have so many people watching us. I also think it was on television, which doesn’t normally happen.”

De Groot his twice as many winners as Montjane, but even for someone with the experience and on-court know-how of the Dutch top seed, the showpiece event was not free of tension.

“For the first two games, I’m sure KG [Montjane] was a little bit nervous as well, but I was shaking. I felt a little bit nervous. I felt it in my tummy. That was just something I had to control. I had to calm down.

“After I settled down a little bit, I played a few good points and that helped me to get in the rhythm for the third, fourth and so on games.”

The rest, as they say, is history.