CZECH Barbora Strycova completed a memorable Wimbledon as she partnered Hsieh Su-wei to the women’s doubles title on Sunday (14), beating Canada-China duo Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan 6-2 6-4.
After the spine-tingling drama of the earlier men’s singles final the longest in the tournament’s history — Strycova and her Taiwanese partner finally got on court to bring the curtain down on the fortnight with a straightforward victory.
“Oh my God, there is no word to describe the feeling,” said a beaming Strycova, who lost to Serena Williams in the women’s singles semi-finals.
They became the first team to lift the doubles crown at Wimbledon without dropping a set since Serena and Venus Williams in 2009.
“I felt like this tournament, especially Wimbledon, from the first moment we stepped on the court together, we just laughed and we just enjoyed,” the Czech said.
“We kept it through the whole tournament. I think that was the biggest key (to the fact) we were playing the way we played.
“We are very different, but both of us handle stress differently.
“She (Hsieh) is really calm person and I’m very emotional. But I keep (trying) to enjoy it with a smile. That helps me also to relax on the court.”
Strycova, 33, had also become the oldest Wimbledon singles semi-final debutant when she lost to Serena last week.
It was a great day for Taiwanese players with Latisha Chan teaming up with Croatian Ivan Dodig to win the mixed doubles, beating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and 42-year-old Swede Robert Lindstedt 6-2 6-3 in the final.
(Reuters)
