Dylan Alcott crowned Wimbledon champion

Australia’s Dylan Alcott has won his 14th Grand Slam singles title and his second Wimbledon crown.

London, UK, 10 July 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Dylan Alcott has won his second Wimbledon quad wheelchair singles title.

The world No.1 successfully defended his 2019 crown, defeating Sam Schroder of the Netherlands 6-2 6-2 in today’s final.

“I just love Wimbledon. I get emotional thinking about Wimbledon,” Alcott said. “You might have heard my good friend Ash Barty say it’s a dream for Aussies to come and win Wimbledon. To get to play here was an absolute privilege … and to now be a dual Wimbledon champion, it’s unbelievable.”

https://twitter.com/TennisAustralia/status/1413841458159751168?s=20

Not even a rain delay, which saw the match start 90 minutes after it was originally scheduled, could dampen Alcott’s spirit today.

The Australian raced to a 3-1 lead in the opening set to heap early pressure on his world No.3-ranked opponent. Hitting 18 winners to Schroder’s 12, Alcott took a high-quality first set in 34 minutes.

Alcott had to fight hard early in the second set – but there was no stopping the 30-year-old Australian, who showed his ability to handle pressure when tested. After losing his serve in the fifth game, Alcott responded by breaking Schroder to love.

“I get up for these big matches, it’s something that naturally I’m good at – which is cool,” Alcott said.

Alcott sealed victory in 67 minutes, finishing the match with 33 winners and only 14 unforced errors.

It is the third Grand Slam final this season that Alcott has defeated 21-year-old Schroder and takes his Grand Slam singles tally to 14.

This was his 21st major in total. With today’s victory, Alcott also becomes the first quad wheelchair player in history to win all four Grand Slam singles titles twice.

DYLAN ALCOTT’S GRAND SLAM TITLES Australian Open Singles 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Doubles 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 Roland Garros Singles 2019, 2020, 2021 Doubles 2019 Wimbledon Singles 2019, 2021 Doubles 2019 US Open Singles 2015, 2018 Doubles 2019, 2020

It marks the second time in Alcott’s career he has won the first three Grand Slam singles titles of the season, also doing so in 2019. He’ll now attempt to complete a calendar Grand Slam at the US Open in September – a feat yet to be achieved in the quad wheelchair singles division.

Aussies in action – Wimbledon

TODAY’S RESULTS Quad wheelchair singles, final [1] Dylan Alcott (AUS) d Sam Schroder (NED) 6-2 6-2

COMING UP Ladies’ singles, final [1] Ash Barty (AUS) v [8] Karolina Pliskova (CZE)

Mixed doubles, semifinals [17] John Peers (AUS)/Zhang Shuai (CHN) v [7] Neal Skupski (GBR)/Desirae Krawczyk (USA)