Vink retains Roland Garros title after marathon win against Schroder
Niels Vink fought back admirably to defeat his friend and compatriot Sam Schroder and successfully defend his Roland Garros quad wheelchair singles title on Saturday. The 20-year-old recorded a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win to claim his third Grand Slam title and deny Schroder the career Grand Slam.
“I'm feeling really happy now. It was a really long battle, a great fight, but yeah, I'm really happy to win it back to back,” Vink smiled afterwards.
The win sees Vink move ahead 3-2 in Grand Slam final meetings with Schroder, with the pair having now contested the title match at the last five majors. Vink has been dominant on the tour this year – but his only defeat came at the hands of Schroder in the final at the Australian Open, and today’s victory will taste particularly sweet after that experience.
For a long time it looked as though Schroder, a runner-up in Paris in 2021 as well as last year, was in the ascendency. He absorbed Vink’s power and made few mistakes. But the world No. 1 hung tough and got his reward in the end, an uncharacteristic double fault from Schroder at match point down handing the title to Vink.
“It's always difficult to play Sam, because yeah, we know each other so well,” Vink said. “We play doubles together. He's also a really good player. It was a great match.”
For Vink, attention will now turn to winning one of the two Grand Slam titles that has eluded him thus far. Vink admitted that he found grass the most difficult surface – but, having reached the final at Wimbledon last year, he will be hopeful that he can compete for the title at SW19 once again this summer.
“Wimbledon is tradition. Everything is special there. If I'm able to win it, it's really special,” he said. “It's not my favourite one because the grass, I find it really difficult. Roland Garros is my favourite surface, on clay. It's special to win Wimbledon, but let's do it one tournament at a time.”
Despite that, it would be surprising if Vink ends his career without a Wimbledon title. But for now, he was content with enjoying the moment.
For Schroder, he will take heart from the fact that he came closer than ever before to winning the title in Paris. But he too is young and has many years ahead of him to win this title. His attention will turn to defending his Wimbledon title next month, as well as catching Vink at the top of the rankings.
In the quad doubles final, there was joy for Andy Lapthorne and Donald Ramphadi who defeated Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw in 1-6 6-2 [10-3] – an extremely successful outcome in their first tournament as a team. For Ramphadi, winning his first Grand Slam title was the perfect way to celebrate his 30th birthday.
“It's a big present for me for my birthday,” the South African beamed in his post-match press conference. “I'm very excited that finally I won a Grand Slam. It's a great feeling. I don't want to lie, I don't really have many words, but I’m excited.”