Guy Sasson’s Near Miss at US Open Grand Slam

Guy Sasson’s Grand Slam dream ended on a hot New York afternoon, just a few points short of history.

The Israeli quad wheelchair star, partnered with Dutch world-beater Niels Vink, came within a match tiebreak of completing a calendar Grand Slam in doubles at the US Open, only to be denied 2–6, 6–3, 7–10 by Sam Schroder and Jin Woodman.

For three majors, Sasson and Vink had been untouchable. Australian Open. Roland Garros. Wimbledon. Every time, the top seeds imposed themselves, the dominant force in the quad doubles field. In New York, they arrived as the pair to beat, the No. 1 seeds with the season at their feet.

Schroder and Woodman didn’t blink.

Sasson and Vink flew out of the blocks, controlling the opening set 6–2 and looking every bit the team that had swept the year’s biggest titles. The patterns were familiar: Vink’s authority from the baseline, Sasson’s sharp hands and court sense at the net, the rhythm of a partnership that had learned how to win together under pressure.

Then the match turned.

Schroder, one of the most seasoned players in the division, and Woodman, the rising Australian, began to find depth and angles. They wrestled back control of the rallies, tightened their service games and took the second set 6–3 to drag the final into a deciding match tiebreak.

The pressure finally told in the smallest of margins. In that sprint to 10, each mini-run felt decisive. Sasson and Vink pushed, but Schroder and Woodman held their nerve in the key exchanges, closing out the breaker 10–7 and with it the title – and the calendar Slam that slipped from Sasson’s grasp by the width of a few points.

For Sasson, the disappointment in doubles came at the end of a week where he had again underlined his status among the elite in singles.

Vink blocks Sasson in singles

Ranked No. 3 in the world and seeded third in the quad singles draw, Sasson battled his way to the semifinals, only to run into the same man who had shared his doubles ambitions: Niels Vink.

Their clash carried the tension of teammates suddenly split by the draw. Vink struck first, racing to a 5–2 lead in the opening set. Sasson refused to fold. He clawed his way back to 5–5, injecting pace, taking the ball earlier, asking questions of the Dutchman’s composure.

But Vink found the answers. He shut the door on the comeback to take the set 7–5, then kept a firm grip on the second, 6–3. Sasson’s run ended in the last four; Vink went on to complete the job and lift the singles title.

Back home, those efforts did not go unnoticed.

Israel ParaSport Center CEO Boaz Kramer hailed the performances of Sasson and Sergei Lysov, framing their Grand Slam breakthroughs as the product of years of hard work. He underlined that winning at this level demands not just talent, but a long, demanding journey shared with coaches and support teams. Kramer made it clear the center will continue to back Sasson and Lysov, as well as their head coaches Ofri Lankri and Damien Martinique, with one eye already on LA28.

Tough lessons for Lysov and Brand

While Sasson chased titles, Sergei Lysov and Dan Brand gathered experience and scars in New York.

Lysov, in his second US Open appearance in the men’s wheelchair division, endured a brutal opener in singles. He stretched his first-round match to three sets but could not find a way through. His doubles campaign ended just as narrowly, with another defeat in a deciding match tiebreak in the opening round.

For 17-year-old Dan Brand, the US Open marked a first taste of junior Grand Slam tennis – and a glimpse of what might lie ahead.

Brand won his opening singles match, a composed debut that suggested he belongs at this level. In the second round he found himself locked in a three-set battle, only for severe cramps in the middle of the deciding set to derail him. He fought on but could not turn the tide, bowing out in three.

In doubles, Brand teamed up with Austrian Tilo Berman. Seeded fifth, they advanced to the second round before running into Yannick Alvarez of Puerto Rico and American Ryan Cozad, who stopped their run and sent them out of the tournament.

The schedule offers Brand little time to dwell. After a short visit with his family in Israel, he will head to Japan for the J500 Osaka Mayor’s Cup World Super Junior Tennis Championships, held from September 21–27 in Osaka.

For Sasson, Lysov and Brand, Flushing Meadows delivered different stories: one near-miss at history, one harsh reminder of the margins, one first step on a much longer road. The next chapters, and perhaps the next champions, are already in motion.