THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 13, 2024

Diede De Groot

Press Conference

D. DE GROOT/A. Van Koot

6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Diede, another Wimbledon title. How does it feel to add another one to your collection?

DIEDE DE GROOT: Really special. This year has been a little bit different than other years where I've basically been unbeaten, and then this year I was beaten.

So I know that all of these players are trying their absolute best to beat me, and Aniek was playing very well. I think everyone saw that she was doing the right things.

So I'm just happy to have another one.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It seemed like a really high quality final. How does it compare to others that you have played?

DIEDE DE GROOT: I knew it was going to be a tough final because yesterday Aniek beat the No. 2 in the world. She was serving really well in that match, so I knew she could do a lot of damage with that, and I think she did on some moments.

Maybe her serve really also sort of hurt her in a way, but I think that does it for both of us. That sort of balanced each other out.

I knew every time I would hit a little bit too short to her backhand, she would slice me anywhere, and she can go anywhere with that ball. So I knew I really had to be smart with my own choices.

Yeah, I think that created a really good final.

Q. I was going to say, today often players say they go back, they regroup, and they go and look, but today it felt like you were regrouping on that court because Aniek was hitting you with everything she had. How much mentally does that take out of you in the middle of a match on a big Show Court when you have to just keep reassessing and reassessing?

DIEDE DE GROOT: Yeah, I think two times I started really well on both sets. 4-Love in the first set. I think I did everything well, but then Aniek just started hitting winners. So, like you said, I had to adjust, which like maybe on an outside court somewhere, a tournament not important, you would maybe start swearing a little bit or be, like, a little bit more out of control.

But here, Court 1, everyone is watching. You want to be well. You want to behave well. So that can be difficult because you sort of have to be strict with yourself and sometimes regroup or tell, Diede, this is not okay, you need to be better.

So, yeah, I had to do that twice this match where I was 4-Love in the first set and then 4-1 in the second, and both of them I let her come back, even though she was playing well to do that. Yeah, it's difficult sometimes.

Q. One of your successful ways you've been coming out on top of her, you were hitting that drop shot and then just battering your forehand or backhand down the line past her. How many times in training do you have to go through that play to be as pitch perfect as you were on Court No. 1 today?

DIEDE DE GROOT: Every day, again. That's not something that you are, like, Oh, one training, we'll do this.

No, it's every training you try to do the same thing so that in a match they're going to be easy, which is difficult. They will never be easy. But if you can do them in training, you can do them in matches, and that's what you have to be able to trust in.

Q. What does Wimbledon mean to you personally, and how much has wheelchair tennis grown at Wimbledon since your first title here?

DIEDE DE GROOT: I mean, I mentioned it in my speech. Wimbledon will always be my favorite. I won here my first Grand Slam title, but also, I think it's like the magical feeling of Wimbledon where the history, the ways they do things, it's so original, it's so authentic. No other Grand Slam has that. So that's what Wimbledon brings.

Then for me it's the feeling of winning my first time here, feeling like it's home because I have family who live here. I always love coming to England. So that's what builds on it.

And then, third, is really the way Wimbledon has been trying to make wheelchair tennis into something really big. So they were the first Grand Slam I know playing the final on a Show Court, like Court 3.

Alfie and Gordon have been huge help for that as well because they showed that Court 1 could be filled and people would enjoy watching it. So that's why we got a chance now to do the same thing. I think people enjoyed it.

Yeah, Wimbledon has been taking steps to help us.

Q. Yeah, Gordon and Alfie, they are the home players. They have a lot of support on those big courts. There was a big moment last year with Yui and Jiske where they were on Court 1, and they had a crowd like you had today, but I would say it's gone even further today, hasn't it?

DIEDE DE GROOT: I think so, but that's what I said in my speech as well. We're just two random Dutch players. We're not England players. They were supporting us. They were helping us. They were cheering.

That's what's really special because I feel like when you know a player, you're going to be into the match, but if you don't know any of the players, it's a little bit more difficult or harder to get into it, but they were into it.

So that's what was really special. Yeah, I think it shows that wheelchair tennis is ready for this.

Q. Obviously you have so many incredible records, but does that create a pressure at all for you to keep sort of adding to those records?

DIEDE DE GROOT: Oh, no pressure at all. I love this (laughing). No, I mean, pressure has been one of the things I've really had to deal with for the past few years. I would have hoped that the pressure would have sort of been lifted once I lost my first match in a long time before Roland Garros.

I thought mentally, Okay, no one is going to expect anything from me anymore, but that's not the case. People still expect me to win. I expect me to win.

Yes, there's a lot of pressure, but I'm trying to deal with it. I just am trying to keep I guess sort of rituals to make sure that everything I can control is going to be the same. Then, yeah, whatever I can't control is going to be that for the day.

Q. Diede, you always talk after every win about it's not going for the next prize, it's about the next bit of progress. So what does the next bit of progress look like for Diede De Groot?

DIEDE DE GROOT: That's an interesting question. I think I really struggled through the clay season this year. I mentally was a little bit scared.

That's why I'm really happy that this week I stepped up, even though the players played really well. I played some longer matches, like today 6-4, 6-4, but that wasn't my fault. Aniek played well.

I'm really happy with this week again, so I'm going to build on this. Go back to clay, so it's different surface, but still continue with the same mindset, be strong, and just keep training.