Melbourne, Jan 31 (IANS) China’s Xiaohui Li defeated Diede de Groot in straight sets to claim the women’s wheelchair final and win her maiden Grand Slam singles title on Saturday at Melbourne Park. Li easily defeated her well-decorated Dutch opponent, who had returned to Kia Arena after hip surgery last year, winning in just 50 minutes with scores of 6-1, 6-2.
The 26-year-old answered through a translator in her post-match press conference, but her bright smile when asked about her feelings needed no translation.
“Right now, we’re pretty pleased,” said Li, who also successfully defended her doubles title with Wang Ziying at Melbourne Park.
De Groot secured four straight AO titles from 2021 to 24, but the Dutch player acknowledged she was no match for the No.3 seed, who was the runner-up to Yui Kamiji in last year’s US Open final.
“Wow, first of all a big congratulations to Li — you really destroyed me today I had no chance. You really played well, and I’m sure you’re going to be in many more finals, so let’s see if I can make a better one next time,” de Groot said.
Li ended de Groot’s winning streak in 2024 and credited her strategy for her season-opening success, securing the silverware on Saturday with a backhand winner.
“In general, both of our pace are at the same level. [I] tried to stay in the same pace. Whenever there’s a chance giving her pressure, then I tried to take the point away. For the last season, the strategy wasn’t really super clear, like, in general. Then this year we got more problem-solving everything, so the strategy is clearer than the last year. We’re improving more on the strategy part,” Li said.
De Groot viewed her overall tournament performance as a success, which was a win on its own given her extended absence from the game.
“I have to see it as an achievement that I’m in the final today, back after one-and-half-years of absence. I’m really proud of that for myself and my team. [Coach] Dennis [Sporrel] and I have worked hard to prepare for this trip, and the outcome was better than we initially imagined. Playing on Kia Arena is such an amazing feeling. The way we started wheelchair tennis it’s only fair to say we’ve come a long way and are still growing,” she said.
–IANS
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