Even though Novak Djokovic was denied a calendar Grand Slam, there were two players who did achieve the incredible feat at the US Open.
Wheelchair tennis players Dylan Alcott and Diede de Groot completed the Golden Grand Slam, no less, at the New York major.
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De Groot scored a 6-3, 6-2 victory over No. 2 seed and longtime rival Yui Kamiji to win her fourth major of the year.
Diede de Groot has made history as the first wheelchair tennis player to win the Golden Slam!@DiedetheGreat | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/ryfimu8t9O
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2021
No wheelchair tennis player had ever before completed the feat, and with just four days between the gold medal match at the Tokyo Paralympics and the start of the US Open, de Groot’s road to the finish line was as much a testament to her fitness as her tennis skills.
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“I think it really has been the main goal for me over the past few weeks, really. There’s a lot of pressure on it,” she said.
“There’s a lot of pressure from the outside. You need to manage that. You need to sort of focus on the things that you need to focus on.”
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While de Groot fulfilled her destiny in just 71 minutes in New York, she never would’ve gotten there if the pair’s first meeting at a major this year went differently.
At the Australian Open, she beat Kamiji in a 2 hour, 20-minute marathon, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, to win the first leg of the Golden Slam.
15th major for Alcott
Dylan Alcott matched de Groot’s feat later on Sunday as he defeated teenager Niels Vink, 7-5, 6-2 to capture his third US Open title.
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Alcott and De Groot joined German legend Steffi Graf as the only tennis player to capture the Golden Grand Slam.
“I think I’m the first male in any form of tennis to win the Golden Slam, which is just unbelievable,” Alcott said.
.@DylanAlcott chugging a beer out of his #USOpen trophy is an absolute MOOD 😂 pic.twitter.com/YCFJr4GTTj
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2021
“It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable. Everybody in this room asked me, ‘Are you thinking about the Golden Slam?’ I’ve said, ‘No, I don’t really care about it, all year.’
“Of course I cared about it. It’s nice not to pretend anymore. It’s just incredible. Really is… I had fun today. I really enjoyed it. I’ll never get the opportunity to win a Golden Slam again.”
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The title is Alcott’s 15th major in singles overall, and the Golden Slam adds to a dominant career resume that dates back seven years since he returned to wheelchair tennis after a spell playing wheelchair basketball.
