By Erik Gudris | Saturday, July 10, 2021
Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens claimed Wimbledon glory in a stellar three-set final.
Photo credit: Getty
The third-seeded Hsieh Su-Wei and Elise Mertens battled past an all-Russian duo to claim the Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles title in a thrilling three-set final considered one of the best in recent memory.
Hsieh and Mertens defeated Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Vesnina 3-6, 7-5, 9-7 to win the coveted title. That included Hsieh and Mertens saving two championship points against them in the second set.
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For Hsieh, the victory in some ways is a title defense from 2019 when she won the doubles title with her then partner Barbora Strycova. For Mertens, this is her third major doubles title and first at Wimbledon.
For Hsieh, the victory in some ways is a title defense from 2019 when she won the doubles title with her then partner Barbora Strycova. For Mertens, this is her third major doubles title and first at Wimbledon.
Both women look stunned that they had won the title after having trailed earlier in the match.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Mertens said during the trophy ceremony. “This match could go either way.”
“Amazing to win again. It was very tough. Yeah we did it. Thank you for the cheering,” Hsieh added.
Throughout the doubles event, Kudermetova and Vesnina appeared to be the team to beat. That included them upsetting the No. 1 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinals, and then saving three match points against them in the semifinals with Caroline Dolehide and Storm Sanders.
The all-Russian team took control early in the match and found themselves a game away from the title leading 6-3, 5-4.
Yet crafty play from Hsieh up at the net saved one of the match points. Her team then broke for 5-all. Soon, Hsieh and Mertens closed out the set 7-5. The final set provided excellent shotmaking from all four players on both the backcourt and up at the net. Hsieh and Mertens broke to earn a 5-3 lead late in the set when Vesnina netted a forehand volley.
Yet the Russians proved that they were not ready to bow out as they soon held serve then broke their opponents’ serve to level the match at 5-all. The match eventually entered into extra games after 6-all.
"I was, like, Su-Wei, first match point, just go, take it. It was such a tough match," Mertens said. "They had match points, I think couple, so we just kept going. We said to each other, Just keep going.
"We never gave up. That's the fighting spirit we had today that maybe made with the difference. Of course there were nerves, but still we managed it well at the end. She's defending champion, champion again. It's unbelievable."
The Russians once again found themselves serving for the title again while leading 7-6. Yet, they could not close out things again with Kudermetova finding herself broken while serving for it. From there, Hsieh and Mertens assumed command down the stretch. Hsieh held serve with ease for 8-7 putting the pressure back on the Russians.
Hsieh and Mertens soon held their first championship point in the next game with the Russians serving to stay in the match. Hsieh struck a perfect down the line backhand winner on match point to close the come from behind victory.
Despite the close loss, the Russians were upbeat about their event. Though some speculated this could be Vesnina’s last Wimbledon after having come back to the tour recently due to maternity leave, the 34-year-old Russian says that everything is still on the table in terms of playing next year.
“Not sure yet because we are making the Grand Slam finals. We’re hoping to stay longer,” an upbeat Vesnina said. “I’m not sure yet. There’s Olympics going on, US Open, I will decide later.”
With the victory, Mertens will once again rise to the top doubles ranking on the WTA tour.