Vink, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion including earlier this summer at Wimbledon, dominated the match from start to finish, never giving Shaw a look on serve and applying constant pressure on return in a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
Vink's Dominant Performance
A strong serving day from the Dutchman made life difficult for Shaw. Vink lost just six points on serve in the entire match, one of which was a double fault, and never faced a break point. He was also ruthless on return, converting all six of his break point opportunities.
A Quick Start for Vink
It took very little time for Vink to take control of the match. In Shaw's opening service game, the Dutchman hit back-to-back winners to go up love-30 and the Canadian was never able to claw him back. Vink hit another winner to seal the break for a 2-0 lead.
Finding Winners on Return
While cruising on serve, Vink was seemingly able to find winners at will on return. He hit four to break for a 4-0 lead and then wrapped up the set with three in a row on the Canadian's serve.
No Way Back for Shaw
In both sets, the only look Shaw had on return was in his opponent's opening service game when he managed to get to 30, but he never got more than two points in a return game in the match. When the Dutchman broke again for a 2-0 lead in the second set and then consolidated to love, it seemed clear that there was no road back for the Canadian.
Shaw's Best Paralympic Result
Reaching the quarter-finals was still the best Paralympic result in Shaw's career. His first-round win over Ymanitu Silva was his first-ever match win at the Paralympics. Shaw was the lone Canadian wheelchair tennis player competing in Paris.
Shaw's Road to Paris
The 34-year-old Canadian holds a hot hand heading into the Games, including winning his last two tournaments. His victory at the Swiss Open last month was his first career win in the ITF1 Series, the highest level in the sport. Shaw was making his second consecutive Paralympic appearance, looking to improve upon his opening-round defeat in his debut at Tokyo 2020.
Facing a Familiar Foe
North Bay's Rob Shaw was scheduled to face a familiar foe in his opening match in the wheelchair tennis quad division tournament at the Paralympic Games following the draw announcement on Tuesday. Shaw, ranked eighth in the world, takes on Ymanitu Silva of Brazil in the 16-player tournament which gets underway on Saturday at Roland-Garros Stadium. The Brazilian currently sits at number 11 internationally. This was Shaw's second Paralympics. The two have played several times together in doubles and most recently at the 2023 Parapan Am Games, where Shaw won in three sets.
Shaw's Dominant Opening Round
Rob Shaw picked up his first career Paralympic match win on Saturday at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, easily defeating Brazil’s Ymanitu Silva in straight sets. In his second appearance at the Paralympics following a first-round loss at Tokyo 2020, Shaw dominated his Brazilian opponent in Paris, getting off to quick starts in both sets and never looking back as he advanced to the quarter-finals of the quad singles with a 6-2, 6-1 win.
A Crisp Performance from Shaw
It was a crisp performance from the Canadian, who had 26 groundstroke winners and 25 service winners. He also had only seven errors in the match, just one unforced, while Silva committed 27. Shaw came blazing out of the gate, firing three winners in his first return game to break for a 2-0 lead. He won 16 of the first 19 points in the match to race ahead a double break at 4-0 before Silva was able to break and get on the board.
A Familiar Script
While the Brazilian got the first break back, he was never able to catch up in the opening set. Then when serving to stay in it at 2-5, he double-faulted to give Shaw a set point where the Canadian closed it out with a backhand winner. The second set followed nearly the same script, with Shaw again breaking twice to open the set on a four-game run. Just like the first, Silva broke to end the run in the fifth game but this time, the Canadian immediately broke back. Shaw won all of the Brazilian’s service games in the second set and managed to serve out the win in the seventh game with back-to-back winners.
The Road Ahead
Shaw faces a big challenge in the last eight in Paris as he will clash with world No. 2 Niels Vink for a spot in the semifinals.
A Look at Shaw's Journey to the Paralympics
The official draw for the 2024 Paris Paralympics Wheelchair Tennis event took place Tuesday morning at Roland-Garros, with Canada’s Rob Shaw drawn to play against Ymanitu Silva of Brazil in the first round of the 16-player quad singles event. Appearing in his second Paralympics after making his debut in Tokyo at the 2020 Paralympic Games, Shaw is currently ranked No. 8 in the quad category. Shaw last faced Silva in the 2023 Parapan American Games semifinal in Santiago where he secured a 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 victory. The winner of their upcoming match will advance into the quarter-final to face either second seed Niels Vink of the Netherlands or Lucas Sithole of South Africa. Shaw’s record on red clay this year is strong, with an impressive 11 wins and only three losses.
A Confident Shaw
“There are definitely no surprises between me and my opponent,” said Shaw. “We’ve played several times together and we both started our doubles careers together as partners. I don’t think we’ve played since Santiago but that was a tough three-set match so I’m expecting something similar on the 31st. Overall, I think it will be an entertaining match and as long as I play well like I have been, I’m confident I can come out on top.”
Shaw's Recent Success
He has captured two singles titles so far in 2024, winning back-to-back tournaments at the Swiss Open in Geneva, an ITF Series 1 event, and the German Open in Berlin (ITF Series 2) in the quad singles events this July. Shaw’s victory at the Swiss Open over Francisco Cayulef of Chile in the final marked his first career singles title in the ITF Series 1 circuit.
Canadian Support for Shaw
“I am looking forward to supporting Rob as he competes in his second Paralympic Games,” said Kai Schrameyer, National Coach of Wheelchair Tennis for Tennis Canada. “He is entering the Games with momentum after his success in Geneva and Berlin and with an impressive 79% win rate on clay this year so far. All of Canada is rooting for him, and I can’t wait to see him give it his all on the court.”
Canada's Paralympic Tennis Journey
Canada has yet to secure a Paralympic medal in wheelchair tennis, with the closest result being a fourth-place finish in quad doubles by Sarah Hunter and Brian McPhate at the 2004 Athens Games.
The Paralympic Tennis Event
The Final Word
While Rob Shaw's Paralympic journey came to an end in the quarterfinals, his strong performance this year, including a first-round win and a quarterfinal finish at the Paralympics, demonstrates his talent and potential. He is a force to be reckoned with in the wheelchair tennis world and we can expect to see more impressive performances from him in the future.
