Hsieh, Mertens rally to win women's doubles at Wimbledon

Updated Jul. 10, 2021 3:30 p.m. ET
Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan and Elise Mertens won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon on Saturday after saving two match points against Russian duo Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina.

The third-seeded Hsieh and Mertens won 3-6, 7-5, 9-7 on Centre Court. They clinched a back-and-forth third set when Hsieh hit a backhand winner to break Vesnina’s serve.

“We were very happy we could close it because it was just going on and going on,” Mertens said.

It was the third Wimbledon doubles title for Hsieh, all with different partners. It was a first for Mertens, who has also won the Australian Open and U.S. Open doubles.

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The unseeded Russian duo had two match points at 5-4 in the second set and also served for the match at 7-6 in the third.

Mertens also had a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third.

“It was such a tough match,” Mertens said. “We just kept going. ... We never gave up. That’s the fighting spirit we had today that maybe made with the difference.”

Vesnina was looking for a fourth Grand Slam doubles title and second at Wimbledon. Kudermetova was playing in her first Grand Slam final.

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