Schroder and Vink to contest all-Dutch quad singles final
The first singles finalists at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event are now known and, as some may have predicted before a ball was hit, the quad singles final will be an all-Dutch affair.
The best two quad players on the planet, Sam Schroder and Niels Vink, will do battle on Thursday as both bid to become the first Dutch players to win a Paralympic quad singles gold medal.
By that stage the duo could already be gold medallists as on Wednesday they go in search of back-to-back Paralympic golds in quad doubles against Great Britain’s Andy Lapthorne and Greg Slade.
Drawing swords with each in the singles final will be nothing new for Schroder and Vink, who have faced each other 33 times previously. Incidentally, Vink leads the head-to-head record between the two, 21-12.
Schroder's victory today, a 7-6(1) 6-4 triumph over Guy Sasson of Israel, not only propelled him to the final, but also gave the 24-year-old a modicum of revenge for his defeat in the Roland Garros quad singles final against the same opponent in June.
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“It’s amazing to be in the final,” said Schroder. “The goal beforehand was to win two gold medals and I now have the chance to achieve that goal.
“Looking back at Roland Garros, where Guy and I played each other in the final, I had some match points there and didn’t take them, so we have history. I was really motivated to make sure I won this time.
“Even when I was 4-1 down in both sets today, I knew I was building up the points well but making some unforced errors in the finishing of those points. I knew if I stayed calm and relaxed that I would tip the scales in my favour.
“It’s great that Niels and I are in the final again. He is of course a great opponent and we play doubles together very well. I look forward now to two great finals.
“I also hope that the people who have come to watch the Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Event have enjoyed what they have seen, they keep watching wheelchair tennis and have been inspired.”
At times like this, it is always interesting to recap the stories of players. Schroder, for instance, was born with split hand/split food syndrome, while shortly after celebrating his 18th birthday he was diagnosed with colon cancer.
He endured a draining five-week period of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, and required the use of a feeding tube, before undergoing surgery in March 2018 to have his colon removed.
Schroder has since emerged as a powerhouse wheelchair tennis player and has six Grand Slam singles titles his name, as well as the Paralympic silver he won in quad singles at Tokyo 2020. A chance of gold now awaits.
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Vink, meanwhile, will be contesting his maiden Paralympic singles final on Thursday. His semi-final clash with Turkiye’s Ahmet Kaplan was a little more straightforward – on paper, at least – than his compatriot’s, with the 21-year-old powering to a 6-1 6-1 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“6-1, 6-1 is a big scoreline, the level was very high and I’m happy with the level I reached,” said Vink, who at the age of one contracted a bacterial infection – meningococcal sepsis – which resulted in him losing both legs and several phalanges.
“I’ve had so much fun on court all week. The people were cheering for me, but also for Ahmet. It was a good tennis match today.
“I’m really good friends with Ahmet. He’s just an amazing person outside of the court. We have so much fun together. We’re both young, we’re on the same level and he’s growing.
"I’m growing also and when we play each other – we make each other better. At the beginning, I was a little nervous, but after the first three games when I was up 3-0, all my nerves left and I enjoyed playing. That’s when I play at my best.
“I have just been having so much fun this week. I am smiling a lot because I love to play tennis. I also love playing Ahmet and I can enjoy when he hits an incredible shot. I enjoy it when I hit an incredible shot also. That’s why I was smiling – and because I won.”