Tennis players Hsieh Cheng-peng (謝政鵬) and Yang Tsung-hua (楊宗樺) returned home to Taiwan yesterday after winning the boys doubles championship at Wimbledon on Sunday. The duo defeated their Australian counterpart 6-4, 2-6, 12-10.
The championship also made Yang the No. 1 teenage tennis player in the world, as well as the first Asian to achieve the status.
At a press conference yesterday, Hsieh and Yang received accolades from family members, friends and government officials.
“I am happy we won the championship,” Yang said.
“At first, we were behind; but we managed to seize the opportunity and fight back,” he said.
In the third set alone, the duo engaged in an intense battle that lasted 76 minutes. Coach Chen Nan (陳南) said that this was the first time that both players competed on a lawn tennis court, which was very challenging.
“It’s like you are standing on a piece of sponge, and it’s difficult to find the balance of your body under that circumstance,” Chen said.
Another challenge came when Yang reported shoulder pain, which affected his performance in the final.
Chen said Yang served the ball at a speed of up to 230kph.
“The two games Yang served were broken by the opponents, so I decided to let Hsieh serve instead,” he said.
Chen said he was satisfied with the results of the match, which he described as one between “adults and children.”
Yang failed his bid in the boys single category, where he was ruled out at the third round of competition.
“I know I lost the game and there was nothing I could do about it,” Yang said. “All I could [do] was work on the doubles.”
The triumph at Wimbledon was the second win the two teenage players have secured this year.
In January, they also won the boys doubles championship in the Australian Open.
Their quest for a title suffered a major setback at the French Open last month, when they were one of the final eight pairs to compete for the trophy.
The two are likely to fight together again at the US Open, which begins on Aug. 25.
Meanwhile, another Taiwanese tennis player, Chan Yung-jan (詹詠然), who was eliminated by Dinara Safina of Russia in the first round at Wimbledon, will compete as a wildcard in the Beijing Olympics next month.
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