Kamiji reigns supreme at Roland Garros; Oda and Sasson also triumph
After matching the feat of a wheelchair legend with a superb triumph at Roland Garros on Saturday, Yui Kamiji revealed she was not certain she would make it to Paris last month.
The Japanese star joined Diede De Groot as a five-time Roland Garros women’s wheelchair singles champion with a stunning 6-2 6-2 triumph over Aniek Van Koot from Netherlands.
Playing on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Kamiji said she felt right at home after enjoying Paralympic success there last year and was able to dictate terms with superb court craft.
Only Esther Vergeer, a six-time champion in Paris, stands ahead of Kamiji and De Groot, and the 31-year-old is delighted with the company she is now keeping at Roland Garros.
“I didn't know that, actually. But clay court is my favorite court,” she said.
“Also, I have good memories here, so I really love to come back to Paris every year. Today I got another title here, so it is unforgettable.”
View this post on Instagram
Kamiji was looking forward to joining her doubles partner Kgathso Montjane in Paris later on Saturday to celebrate after they claimed the women’s doubles on Friday night.
There is much for the 10-time Grand Slam singles champion to enjoy given she was concerned a month ago that a wrist problem would prevent her from playing Roland Garros.
On returning to Japan, she is planning to visit the medical centre where she received treatment to show her spoils from her brilliant week in Paris as part of her victory tour.
“I played in the World Team Cup last month and I knew that my wrist wasn't in a good position for me, but I had to play for the Japan team,” she said.
“I knew it might not have been injured but that I might have some problem, a little problem, but it was bigger than I thought.
“As soon as possible, I want to go to the hospital to show them my trophy, and I would like to say thank you to them.”
It was a Japanese double in the wheelchair singles, with Tokito Oda claiming his third consecutive Roland Garros title. This leaves him one shy of compatriot Shingo Kuneida’s feat between 2007 and 2010.
View this post on Instagram
Australian David Hall is the only other player to win the same event at least three times in succession in the wheelchair singles, with his successes coming in Melbourne between 2003 and 2005.
On clinching an especially hard-fought triumph over Alfie Hewett 6-4 7-6(6) in 1hr 39min, the 19-year-old celebrated in raucous fashion, bringing roars of delight from the crowd.
He delivered the most theatrical of bows and then played his racquet as though it was a guitar, strumming the strings with vigour while beaming broadly as he circled on the court.
Israel’s Guy Sasson was planning a big celebration with family and friends in Paris on Saturday night after a successful defence of his quad singles title against No.1 seed Niels Vink.
The 45-year-old said defeating Vink and his compatriot Dutch Sam Schroder in any tournament is difficult, a feat he has now managed for the second year in a row at Roland Garros, though the order of those victories was reversed this year.
Adding further merit to his triumph is that it was achieved through adversity, with Sasson falling ill in the infancy of the week in Paris before fighting through some testing matches.
View this post on Instagram
“Early this week I caught a virus, so I wasn't feeling good,” he said.
“I was feeling a bit weak but … once you get the opportunity to be here in this facility, in this huge Grand Slam - I don't want to say once in a lifetime, because I want to be here next year - but it's such a big event and it means so much to me, to my family, and the whole wheelchair tennis.
“You've got to be here, and you've got to perform. Even though I felt not my best, I knew that at the end of the day I have to fight and to win it, and I'm glad that I was able to do it.”
After the celebration, Sasson is looking forward to reuniting with his family but said there was a rule in place for his children when it comes to the Roland Garros trophies he has won.
“I have an office room in my house and there is like a special stand where I keep … just the most important trophies,” he said.
“The problem is that, you know, my kids, they're young. They come into the office. They touch everything. But they know that this one, they cannot touch it.”