'I don't know how I won': De Groot, Oda, Schroder win Melbourne Open
On the same day that Mirra Andreeva battled back from 5-1 down and match point down in the final set of her Australian Open third round match against Diane Parry, some 42km north of Melbourne Park Diede de Groot accomplished the same feat as the 27-year-old world No. 1 wrapped up her third successive Stockland Melbourne Wheelchair Open title in the most dramatic of circumstances after beating world No. 2 Yui Kamiji 6-1 3-6 7-6(0).
For Andreeva, there was no celebrated win streak on the line and her rivalry with Diane Parry has yet to – and may never – reach the heights of De Groot’s with Yui Kamiji, the 29-year-old world No. 2 who was the last player to beat De Groot in the final of the same Melbourne Wheelchair Open almost three years ago, in February 2021.
“I don’t really know how I managed to win this, so I’m definitely going to remember this match for a long time. Yui played so well, she really pushed me to the limit,” said De Groot in her prize-giving speech after extending her winning streak to 131 matches.
Much was said about the mental strength of Andreeva after her victory at Melbourne Park, but those watching in person at Hume Tennis and Community Centre - and those watching online - could only wonder at the mental strength of both De Groot and Kamiji in one of the most memorable final sets in recent times at the top of the women’s wheelchair game.
“I’m very happy with the first set I played and also with my comeback. Yui really stepped it up in the second set and I really couldn’t do too much about it and she was all over the place,” added de Groot later, recalling a match where she faced the first match point against her since 2021 at 5-3 in the finals set.
“At 5-1 down (in the final set) I played this one game when I was like, ‘OK, you know what, this is going to be it; it’s OK if I lose today. So I played a game where it was just ‘give it your all now’. And I won that game and that gave me a little of hope where I thought ‘maybe I can have another game and then maybe I can try and get another game’ and that’s how I tried to do it.
“I still don’t know how, but I managed it and it’s now on to the Australian Open, which I’m very happy about – that’s the tournament I’m here for.”
Oda claims first Melbourne Wheelchair Open title
While Kamiji came closer to beating de Groot than she had since 2021, there was a Japanese champion crowned in the northern Melbourne suburb of Craigieburn after world No. 2 Tokito Oda took a high-quality men’s singles final against world No.1 and defending champion Alfie Hewett 6-2 7-6(5).
The tenth meeting between the top two seeds saw Oda complete a triumphant start to his 2024 season as he continually pressured Hewett and took time away from the Briton to earn a 5-0 first set lead.
Hewett eventually got himself on the board towards the end of the opening set and then came from 2-0 down to earn a 5-4 second set lead, but Oda forced the tie-break and never looked back after establishing a 4-0 advantage.
“It’s the first tournament of the year and for me this year is special because we have the Paris Paralympics and I’m super-excited to get into the year. Last year was a really good year for me but I need to get better for this year so I’m so happy for today’s win and I did well in this final match.”
Sam Schroder confirmed that he was also ‘happy with my level’ as he, too, opened his 2024 season at the first Super Series tournament of the year and left Craigieburn with his second Melbourne Open quad singles title.
Schroder’s 2023 season highlights saw him lift the Australian Open and US Open quad singles titles as he inflicted the only two losses of last year for his doubles partner Niels Vink, but the 2024 rivalry between the world’s top two quad players got off to a truncated start after Vink retired from their first final of the year due to injury while trailing Schroder 5-0.
Vink’s injury meant that the Dutch top seeds had to award a walkover in the quad doubles, handing Donald Ramphadi and Guy Sasson their first Super Series doubles titles apiece.
There was another all-Dutch title in the women’s doubles as De Groot and Aniek Van Koot earned their fourth Melbourne Open victory since 2019, beating reigning ITF Wheelchair Doubles Masters champions and top seeds Kgothatso Montjane and Kamiji 6-4 7-5.
Meanwhile, Hewett and Gordon Reid regained the Melbourne Open men’s doubles title, the 2020 champions and top seeds beating second seeds Joachim Gerard and Stephane Houdet 6-3 1-6 (10-8) to give the British duo their 10th Super Series title as a partnership.