Aussie teen creates history with title-winning run at US Open 2024
Queensland's Benjamin Wenzel becomes the first Australian junior wheelchair tennis player to capture a Grand Slam title.
New York, USA, 7 September 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Australian Benjamin Wenzel and his Dutch partner Ivar van Rijt have been crowned the US Open 2024 boys’ wheelchair doubles champions.
The second-seeded duo scored a commanding 6-2 6-1 victory against American combination Charlie Cooper and Tomas Majetic in today’s final at Flushing Meadows.
It caps a near-perfect tournament for Wenzel and Van Rijt, who only conceded a total of seven games across their title-winning run.
This is a history-making result too, with Wenzel becoming the first Australian junior wheelchair player in history to capture a Grand Slam title.
It is the third – and by far the biggest – career doubles title for the 17-year-old from Cairns, who made his Grand Slam debut at last year’s US Open.
Two more Australians have a chance to win a US Open title tomorrow, when Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson contest the men’s doubles final.
The seventh-seeded duo, who are the first all-Australian team to progress to a men’s doubles final at the tournament in 28 years, are aiming to win their first major title together.
> READ: Purcell and Thompson charge into doubles final at US Open 2024
Aussies in action – US Open
RESULTS
Boys’ wheelchair doubles, final
[2] Benjamin Wenzel (AUS)/Ivar van Rijt (NED) d Charlie Cooper (USA)/Tomas Majetic (USA) 6-2 6-1
COMING UP
Men’s doubles, final
[7] Max Purcell (AUS)/Jordan Thompson (AUS) v [10] Kevin Krawietz (GER)/Tim Puetz (GER)
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