When Guy Sasson took to Court 13 in Saturday’s French Open Quad Wheelchair finals tennis match – and almost three hours later became the first Israeli player to win a Grand Slam wheelchair singles title – he had no idea that another big Israel story had just taken place.
The 44-year-old Sasson, the tournament’s No. 3 seed, had lost four of five previous matches against 22-year-old Sam Schroder of the Netherlands, the No. 2 seed and winner of six Grand Slam titles.
Sasson took the first set 6-2, lost the second set 3-6, and was down two match points in the super tiebreaker. Sasson let out a victory cheer when he got to seven – only to find out from the chair umpire of the need to win 10 points in a Grand Slam event.
Sasson and his coach, Ofri Lankry, had a good laugh and the Israeli went on to win the tiebreaker and the singles title. When he left the court, he learned of the thrilling rescue of four hostages in Gaza and of the unfortunate loss of Chief Inspector Arnon Zamora.
“After the match, I hugged my coach and psychologist and they told me four were brought back alive,” Sasson reported in a phone interview with The Jerusalem Post after arriving in Nice, France where he will begin his next tournament this week. “I’m in shock – right after my huge thriller with ups and downs and I pulled it off – it was as if all the stars were aligned at the same moment.
“Some people who were watching said that I was down 5-3 and when the message of the hostages being freed got out, I got back in!”
A journey of triumph
While Sasson playfully acknowledges there may have been some divine intervention at play, he is proud of the very systematic program he has been following to get to this point.
“It is a process I am going through and it will lead to the Paralympics.”
The 2024 Paralympic Games will take place in Paris between August 28 and September 8.
Sasson noted that getting to Roland Garros as the No. 3 seed was in itself a great achievement.
“After the Australian Open [where Sasson lost to Schroder in the finals 6-3, 6-3], I really wanted to win. I like and prefer clay. I like the bounce of the ball and felt I had a good chance. I started well by beating the No. 4 and then the No. 1 in the semifinals. Then it was Sam again in the finals. He is in great shape. I came prepared with good tactics. I believed in myself. I thought it could happen and it happened.”
Later in the day, Sasson also played in the quads men’s doubles finals with Andy Lapthorne of Great Britain. The pair lost 7-6, 6-1 to Schroder and fellow Dutchman Niels Vink.
Lankry, who shared the news of the hostages, is proud of Sasson and shares his sense of accomplishment.
“It’s an amazing feeling. We work and train so hard to improve every single element of Guy’s game. We came with good tactics this time, and Guy was determined to stick to it, and it worked.
“We are proud to represent the country in these difficult times, and to bring honor! We are hoping for more good news – go Israel!”
With Saturday’s win, Sasson became the second Israeli after Shahar Pe’er to ever win a Grand Slam single tennis title. He became the third Israeli man to win any Grand Slam title after Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, who won the 2008 Australian Open men’s doubles title. Ram also won the mixed doubles titles in 2006 at Wimbledon and 2007 at Roland Garros.