Taiwanese tennis ace Hsieh Su-wei and partner Jan Zielinski of Poland on Friday advanced to the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon, just one step away from clinching their first mixed doubles title at the tournament.
Hsieh and Zielinski, who won the Australian Open title earlier this year and who had reached the semi-finals at the French Open, battled past second seeds Michael Venus and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand 7-6, (7/0), 6-3.
In the first set, the Taiwanese-Polish duo saved a set point, pushing the set into a tiebreaker. They clinched the set by winning the tiebreaker with seven straight points.
The duo then broke their opponents’ serve to lead 5-3 in the second set before closing out the match.
By winning the match, Hsieh achieved her best-ever result in mixed doubles at Wimbledon.
Hsieh and Zielinski face Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and Giuliana Olmos in the final today. If they win, it will be their second Grand Slam title following their Australian victory in January.
In the women’s doubles semi-finals, Hsieh and Belgian partner Elise Mertens, the defending champions, lost to Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and American Taylor Townsend 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
In the men’s singles, Novak Djokovic said that the prospect of creating tennis history would provide the “fuel” he needs to defeat Carlos Alcaraz and clinch an eighth Wimbledon title and record 25th Grand Slam.
Just five weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee, 37-year-old Djokovic can become the oldest Wimbledon champion of the modern era and avenge his heartbreaking five-set loss to the Spaniard in last year’s final.
“I’m aware of what’s on the line. Any Grand Slam that I play, there’s always history now on the line,” Djokovic said. “I will try to use that as a fuel to play my best tennis.”
Djokovic is to play his 10th Wimbledon final and 37th at the 75 majors in which he has played.
A 25th Grand Slam title would be an all-time record for men and women, snapping the mark of 24 he shares with Margaret Court.
“It serves as a great motivation, but at the same time it’s also a lot of pressure and expectations,” he said. “Every time I step out on the court now, even though I’m 37 and competing with the 21-year-olds, I still expect myself to win most of the matches, and people expect me to win 99 percent of the matches that I play.”
Alcaraz, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, is in his fourth Grand Slam final and is looking to add a second Wimbledon to his 2022 US Open breakthrough and French Open title from last month.
Alcaraz on Friday defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals, while Djokovic swept into the final with a straight-sets win over Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.
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