Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) on Saturday won her third Wimbledon women’s doubles title when she and Belgian partner Elise Mertens defeated Russia’s Elena Vesnina and Veronika Kudermetova.
“It’s not always easy to play in the final, and the opponent will fight super hard,” Hsieh said ahead of the match. “We all know it’s the last match so we will fight until the last point definitely.”
Her determination paid off for the third-seeded pair, who were competing in their fifth tournament together. They saved two match points in the second set to win 3-6, 7-5, 9-7.
Photo: Reuters
Unseeded Kudermetova and Vesnina had two match points at 5-4 in the second set, the second one producing an incredible rally that Hsieh eventually won with a volley.
As the third set dragged on, 35-year-old Hsieh finished off a gripping contest with a backhand winner.
Hsieh and Mertens clinched a back-and-forth third set when Hsieh hit a backhand winner to break Vesnina’s serve.
Photo: AFP
“Some of her volleys, I can’t do. She’s a magician,” Mertens, the world’s No. 1 doubles player, said of Hsieh.
“That felt like seven hours,” Mertens said of the two-and-a-half-hour battle on a packed Centre Court. “There were nerves, but we managed it well in the end... We are very happy that we could close it out.”
“It was such a tough match,” Mertens added. “We just kept going... We never gave up. That’s the fighting spirit we had today that maybe made with the difference.’’
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday sent a message to congratulate Hsieh on her achievement.
She said on Twitter that Hsieh’s victory at Wimbledon would inspire the next generation of tennis players in Taiwan and around the world.
The Sports Administration also offered its congratulations and promised to continue to support tennis players as they work to achieve a higher global ranking.
Hsieh won her previous Wimbledon doubles titles with different partners. It was a first for Mertens, who has also won the Australian Open and US Open doubles.
Hsieh won the 2013 Wimbledon title with China’s Peng Shuai and the 2019 trophy alongside Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic.
Additional reporting by Shelley Shan
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