Sam Schroder stunned two-time champion Dylan Alcott in the US Open Quad Wheelchair singles final to win the title on his Grand Slam debut. 

The 20-year-old Dutchman, who had lost to Alcott in straight sets in their round robin encounter earlier in the week, capitalised on his second opportunity, winning Sunday’s final 7-6(5) 0-6 6-4 to prevent Alcott from adding to his triumphs at Flushing Meadows in 2015 and 2018.

“I didn’t expect it at all. I’m super happy about it. I had to hold my tears back a little bit,” Schroder said of his memorable Grand Slam debut. “It’s been an amazing experience playing my first Grand Slam, playing at a huge venue, inside these huge stadiums.

“Meeting other top able-bodied players is also an amazing experience and something that’s really going to help me grow as a person and a tennis player. It’s been wonderful.”

The triumph marked the latest chapter in a remarkable life story for the Quad world No. 4, who has had to overcome many obstacles throughout his life. Schroder, who has a rare genetic disorder which has caused his hands and feet to develop abnormally, also underwent treatment for colon cancer in 2017.

And Schroder admitted that latter experience had a significant bearing on his ability to dig deep and find a way past Alcott, even when the final appeared to be slipping away from him when he failed to register a game in the second set.

“It’s a very big factor for me,” Schroder said. “To just keep going in every match no matter what the score is. Just to find a way to get back in there. Fight for every point and never give up. What I went through when I had cancer helped me solidify that in my head.

“With Dylan, you’ve always got to watch out because he’ll hit the craziest shot out of nowhere. You’ve always got to be ready, to keep fighting for every point. He’s never going to give up, so you have to keep going till the last point’s won.”

Never mind the stage, the occasion, the opponent and the obstacles he’s overcome, Schroder’s triumph was all the more impressive given the ease in which Alcott had negotiated their round-robin clash a few days earlier, with the Australian, who had won six of the previous seven Grand Slams, conceding just six games in a one-sided contest.

But Schroder believes that encounter was a handy test run for the final that followed.

“First time playing at the US Open, lots of cameras around you, all following every single movement… that was a completely different kind of pressure and experience for me, so I wasn’t really able to play at the level that I wanted to show,” he admitted.

“I think going through that match really helped me get through all these new experiences and the pressure that comes with it. I already played on the Louis Armstrong and I think that was why I was able to show a higher level today.”

Schroder’s US Open win is his third title of 2020 – adding to his titles in Bolton and Melbourne this year – with Alcott the only player who’s managed to beat him this season.