THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 15, 2023

Diede De Groot

Press Conference

D. de GROOT/J. Griffioen

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference for Diede de Groot.

A fifth Wimbledon title for you. How does that feel?

DIEDE de GROOT: Very good. Yes, I think it was one of the more difficult matches in terms of the conditions that I played. But even more proud to do it in such a convincing way.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Jiske, the first-ever women's wheelchair tennis singles champion here. Monumental for Dutch tennis.

DIEDE de GROOT: Yeah, knowing she was the first-ever Wimbledon champion, knowing how well she does on the grass, she likes it. I played her in Eastbourne, which was already like a little bit of a warm-up for us, so I knew exactly what it was going to be like - or at least that's what I thought (smiling).

I'm so proud of her for making that final. She played so well yesterday. I watched the whole match as I was waiting for my own match to start.

I had a really good look at that match, so that was very interesting. I'm very proud of her for making the final.

Q. How does it feel? Most Grand Slam finals, it's you and Yui.

DIEDE de GROOT: It's different. I like the change. I think Dutch against Dutch, playing a fellow countryman is always difficult because you know each other so well. I think that also makes it a little bit difficult. It makes it difficult for both sides. We know each other very well. Last year we went on a holiday together. Like, we're very good friends.

Yeah, that makes it difficult. Also I guess we know each other, so we know what to expect.

Q. You've been in so many finals here. Actually this is the one place where you have had a variety of opponents in the singles finals. Can anyone beat you on this surface or is this you here now for good?

DIEDE de GROOT: That's funny because I think grass doesn't naturally suit my game that well. I know I seem to come across like a power player. I like long rallies, I like to sort of get into it, play better, play better, then finish the point in the end.

To do one shot, one shot, is very difficult for me. But, yeah, it seems like everyone's having a tough time beating me. I guess that does make me sort of a grass player.

Q. It was really windy out there. Your opponent, she seemed to be having more difficulty than you with her ball toss. How did you find it?

DIEDE de GROOT: It was very difficult. I was warming up before the match at Aorangi. I think out of all the serves I hit, maybe three of them were into the court. It was so difficult.

I really just knew that it was going to be about those first few balls, like the serve and return. They were going to be so important this match.

In general on grass, they are very important. But also with the wind because you just don't know where the next ball is going to come.

Yeah, I tried to focus on them a lot. It worked out.

Q. You hit a couple of backhand returns. The ball had almost gone behind you. It's quite a spectacular shot. Is there one particular shot of yours that stands out as a favorite shot when it comes off?

DIEDE de GROOT: I'm not sure if I should say this in public (smiling). No. No.

I really like hitting that backhand shot. It's one of my favorites because I know how it looks. I know people enjoy it. It's different than a regular forehand. I know what it looks like. I'm always very proud of it when it works out like that.

Q. Can I ask you about your goals for the next 12 months or so. You have the four slams between now and the Paralympics. You want to win those, but is there a wider spectrum rather than saying, I want to win again?

DIEDE de GROOT: For sure. Recently I've been trying to find different ways of approaching, I want to say my life, but that sounds very deep. Really just trying to find maybe a different way of approaching my career.

I've done it in a certain way for a very long time, and it's working. But also it's the same every year. We go to the same tournaments. I play the same opponents. I play the same game.

Recently, and I think it's like from January, I've tried to mix things up a little bit maybe here and there. Give myself a little bit more time between tournaments to really rest and sort of come back down to earth, whereas usually I like to sort of keep going, keep going. I have Monday off, but Tuesday usually I'm already back on court because I have another tournament coming. That's how life has been for the past five years.

So, yeah, I've been trying to find ways to mix it up a little bit. I think hopefully it will make me keep that hunger, especially towards next year, which is going to be a busy year as well. It's going to be very important to keep that.

Q. The on-court interviewer you mentioned Esther, that record. Is it ridiculous for people to keep comparing you to her, that she has 470-odd wins?

DIEDE de GROOT: I completely understand it from a point of view, like from the media side, from people watching it. I completely understand it.

I think for Esther and myself it can be a little bit different because it creates the atmosphere of who is the better player. So, yeah, we spoke about this the other day. I think it really is, for me as well, I respect her so much as a player, what she's done for the sport, not just for wheelchair tennis, but for Paralympic sport in general, and she's still doing that. So I respect her so much.

Being in the position that I am now, I know how difficult it is to have a streak like this, to win a lot of tournaments. So I think the respect is only growing.

But, yeah, people like to compare. I hear it in the on-court interviews with Djokovic as well where she mention his streaks. He's also like, I don't care about the numbers.

I think for the players, it's not something you have in mind as a goal. You want to play well, you want to hit the right shots, you want to enjoy. You don't want to have necessarily high numbers I think.