Originally posted in Jerusalem Post, September 7 2025
In the first set, Sasson rallied from a three-game deficit to tie at 3-3 before Vink closed it out 6-3.
Israeli No. 3 seeded wheelchair tennis player Guy Sasson lost his US Open quad singles semifinal match to 22-year-old Dutch opponent Niels Vink on Friday afternoon.
Just four hours later, the 45-year-old Wimbledon doubles champion was back on court – this time on the same side of the net with Vink. It took the duo exactly an hour to capture the US Open doubles trophy. Sasson, his family, and coaches had plenty of time to celebrate before Shabbat began in New York City.
Sasson’s day started with a disappointing 6-3, 6-4 loss to the top-seeded Vink that lasted 90 minutes. In the first set, Sasson rallied from a three-game deficit to tie at 3-3 before Vink closed it out 6-3.
In the second, Sasson jumped ahead 4-1, but Vink stormed back to win five consecutive games and seal the match, ending Sasson’s singles run.
In his post-match media session, Sasson admitted he wasn’t focused on the scoreboard when he was ahead in the second set.
“Honestly, I wasn’t thinking if it’s 4-1 or how big the lead is, because every game was a struggle during the match. I tried to take it one point at a time. I guess after 4-1, I had two games that I lost too quickly. I made too many unforced errors, too many mistakes, and he returned to the game. Then he got his confidence, and unfortunately, I couldn’t pull it off today.”
The numbers told part of the story: Sasson committed 22 unforced errors to Vink’s 17, and hit 10 winners compared to Vink’s 27. Still, Sasson felt he had been well prepared.
“I felt like I could have had it. I felt good. I trained really hard during this tournament, and unfortunately, today I didn’t play my best and lost.”
A far happier outcome in doubles
His doubles final, however, had a far happier outcome.
No. 1 Sasson and Vink cruised to a dominant 6-1, 6-4 victory over unseeded Chilean Francisco Cayulef and Argentine Gonzalo Enrique Lazarte in just one hour.
Sasson had already faced Cayulef in his opening-round singles match earlier in the tournament.
The statistics underscored the dominance: Sasson and Vink converted 6-of-11 break points, while their opponents managed just 1-of-3. The champions tallied 16 winners to their opponents’ five and committed 11 unforced errors compared to six.
Sasson smiled when asked about the frequent dynamic of facing a doubles partner in singles before joining forces later in a tournament.
“We’re used to it. I think in every big tournament and Grand Slam, we usually meet each other, and then one of us wins, and we have to share the court together. We know how to play doubles together and separate the singles and the doubles, and it’s all good!”