Golden year: Dylan Alcott completes holy grail
“I can’t believe I just won the golden slam,” Dylan Alcott said after completing his holy grail of tennis achievement — all four major titles plus Paralympic gold in the same year.
“I used to hate myself so much. I hated my disability. I didn’t even want to be here any more. I found tennis and it changed and saved my life. Now I’ve become the only male ever, in any form of tennis, to win the golden slam. Which is pretty cool.”
That’s Australia’s Dylan Alcott, who at 30 had just beaten Dutchman Niels Vink in the quad singles final at the US Open.
His 7-5, 6-2 win completed his holy grail of tennis achievement: all four major titles plus Paralympic gold in the same year.
“I can’t believe it,’’ an ecstatic Alcott said.
He had the US Open trophy in his lap when the TV cameras panned to him as he sat in the stands during the men’s singles final. He filled it up with a cold beer and chugged it down with all the relish of Bob Hawke at the SCG. That’s one for the country, Dylan.
On the other side of the Atlantic, Daniel Ricciardo was also celebrating. His victory in the Italian F1 Grand Prix was his first win in three years, and the first driving in the colours of McLaren.
Ricciardo, jubilant, celebrated his return to the winner’s podium by challenging third placegetter Valtteri Bottas, whose girlfriend Tiffany Cromwell is an Australian cyclist, to partake in a “shoey’’ (drinking champagne from a sweaty driver’s boot).
“Come on, man, you’re dating an Australian now,” said Ricciardo.
Bottas replied: “We don’t have shoeys at home!”
In New York, Alcott’s scull went down a treat when it was shown on the global broadcast of the US Open, and on the big screen inside New York City’s sprawling Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Oscar, Grammy and Tony award winners rubbed shoulders with sporting legends, including Australia’s Rod Laver, to watch Novak Djokovic’s ill-fated pursuit of the first men’s calendar grand slam since the Rockhampton Rocket in 1969.
Alcott had already done a Djokovic, and then some. He’s won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles this year, plus the hard-earned Paralympic gold in Tokyo.
“To everybody at home, I love you,” he said.
“Hopefully this puts a smile on your face. Better times are on the horizon. To everybody in New York, I feel honoured and privileged to be out here on this court. I’m going to be upfront, I don’t know whether I’ll be back here. So I really appreciate everything.
“Thanks for making a young, fat, disabled kid with a really bad haircut – thanks for making his dreams come true, because I can’t believe that I just did it.”
Djokovic didn’t fare so well. What a disaster. He played his worst match at the most inopportune time, blowing his chance at sporting immortality. Nerves got the better of him in a shockingly emphatic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Russia’s Daniil Medvedev.
And before the last game, we witnessed the biggest surprise of all – the iron man of world tennis started crying.
He said it was because he felt loved by the NYC crowd after 15 years of being booed like a Broadway villain. “Part of me is very sad,” he said. “It’s a tough one to swallow, this loss. Everything that was on the line. But on the other hand, it was something I never felt before in my life in New York. The crowd pleasantly surprised me. The amount of support and energy and love I got from the crowd was something I will remember forever. I mean, that’s the reason, at the changeover, why I teared up. Because the energy and emotion was so strong. As strong as winning 21 grand slams. That’s how I felt.”
Alcott wasn’t the only Australian winner on the final day at the US Open. Veteran star Sam Stosur combined with China’s Zhang Shuai to beat US starlets Coco Gauff and Catherine McNally in the women’s doubles final.
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