Vink channels Nadal and Schroder shakes off clay rust at Roland Garros
Dominant Dutchmen Niels Vink and Sam Schroder are one win each from facing one another in a third consecutive Roland Garros singles final after winning their opening matches on the first day of action in the quad wheelchair singles event on Wednesday.
Vink, 21, defeated Canadian wild card Robert Shaw 6-3 6-3 in a repeat of their opening match last year, while Schroder, 24, overcame Brit Andy Lapthorne 6-1 6-3 to reach the last four. As a result, Vink will take on Australian Open singles runner-up Guy Sasson, with the Israeli defeating Australia’s Heath Davidson 6-0 6-2, while Schroder will face South Africa’s Donald Ramphadi, who fought back from a set down to defeat American David Wagner 3-6 6-2 6-1.
Despite the straightforward scoreline, two-time defending champion Vink wants to improve moving into the next round.
“Last year was one of my best matches I’ve played against Rob, but today was not my best,” the world No. 1 said of his performance. “There were a lot of mistakes and my balls were too short, so he could attack with his shots.”
Meanwhile, lefthander Schroder normally has an advantage against right-handed opponents, but faced fellow lefty Lapthorne.
“Two lefties against each other, it doesn’t happen very often,” the six-time Grand Slam singles champion said. “The serve was going in a completely different direction, which took time to get used to.”
Schroder freely admits that clay is not his favourite surface, but is working hard to make the most of his play in Paris.
“The brace I use on my racket means I cannot change my grip if the bounce is inconsistent on the clay,” he explained. “It’s very difficult for me to adapt to it. Hard court is definitely my favourite, but it’s nice to be back at Roland Garros again. You do need to do some extra weight and resistance exercises to get ready for the clay here. For example, a lot of players across all the events here are playing a lot of drop shots this year. Because the ball really stays dead on the courts. Physically you do need to sprint however many times to the ball, so it’s more demanding.”
Meanwhile, Vink feels right at home on the surface where he won his first Grand Slam singles title in 2022.
“Clay is my favourite surface, and there’s no better clay than here in Paris,” he said. “When I started playing tennis I grew up on clay. Rafa [Nadal] was my idol when I was a kid, and I really like his game style. My game plan suits clay very well.”
Despite the challenge of clay, Schroder has reached the final at Roland Garros for the last three years, falling to quad tennis legend Dylan Alcott in the 2021 final before losing to Vink in 2022 and last year.
He lost in two tight sets 6-4 7-6(8) in 2022, and even pushed Vink to three sets in a 3-6 6-4 6-4 defeat last year.
Elsewhere in the Roland Garros wheelchair event, No. 2 seed Yui Kamiji suffered an upset against fellow Japanese Momoko Ohtani in the women’s singles quarter-finals, losing 6-7(1) 7-5 6-4 in a marathon match lasting nearly three hours.
There were no such worries for world No. 1 Diede de Groot as she defeated China, P.R.’s Wang Ziying 6-0 6-3. Fellow Dutchwoman Aniek van Koot, three-time Grand Slam singles champion, defeated American Dana Mathewson 6-3 6-0 for the chance to face her compatriot. Zhu Zhenzhen is the last Chinese player standing after she defeated Netherlands’ Lizzy de Greef to book her spot in the singles semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2020 Australian Open.
In the men’s draw, world No. 1 and three-time Roland Garros champion Alfie Hewett overcame doubles partner Gordon Reid 6-0 6-4 to set up a semi-final meeting with No. 3 seed and two-time Roland Garros winner Gustavo Fernandez, who defeated American Casey Ratzlaff. Meanwhile, second seed and defending champion Tokito Oda defeated Netherlands’ Tom Egberink 6-1 6-4, and will be joined in the semi-finals by compatriot Takuya Miki, guaranteeing a Japanese finalist in the men’s singles. Miki defeated Chile’s Alexander Cataldo 6-4 6-4 to reach his first Grand Slam singles semi-final since the 2023 Australian Open. He has never reached a Grand Slam singles final in his career.