London, July 10 (IANS) Jelena Ostapenko and Marcelo Arevalo claimed the Wimbledon mixed doubles title after rallying from a set and a break down to defeat Australian duo Storm Hunter and Marc Polmans 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in final.
For Ostapenko, it was her first Wimbledon title. The Latvian, who previously won the 2017 French Open singles title and the 2024 U S Open women’s doubles title, reached two Wimbledon finals before and left holding the runner-up’s salver – in the mixed doubles final in 2019 and the ladies’ doubles final last summer.
“It’s been a great week,” Ostapenk told the media after the win. “Now I am Grand Slam champion in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. I think it’s great to win all the categories. I think we play really well with Marcelo. I really enjoy it. We have a lot of fun on the court. Of course, winning Wimbledon is special.”
Arevalo, meanwhile, became the first player from El Salvador to win a Wimbledon title. Overall, he also secured his third Grand Slam title after winning the 2022 and 2024 Roland Garros men’s doubles titles. The 35-year-old will have a chance to leave London with more glory on Saturday when he competes in the men’s doubles final alongside Mate Pavic.
“It means a lot, coming from El Salvador, a country that is not known for tennis or being a big sport country,” Arevalo said. “I’m just grateful to be here, to have the opportunity to play on Centre Court. I think it’s a dream. I remember at the beginning of the week, my team had a little tour [around Centre Court] and I didn’t go in. I told them, ‘I want to earn it’ and I did today.
“I’m just extremely happy that I play with Jelena and we had that opportunity to play here. I just want to keep inspiring the kids from my country, to make them [realise] when you put in a lot of effort and you believe in your dreams, you can achieve big things in life,” he added.
Hunter and Polmans controlled the opening stages of the match, taking the first set 6-4 before breaking early in the second to build a 3-1 lead. Ostapenko and Arevalo responded in emphatic fashion, winning six of the next eight games. They broke serve twice to capture the second set 7-5 and force a decider.
With the Centre Court roof closed before the third set, Ostapenko and Arevalo maintained their momentum. They secured breaks in the fourth and eighth games to seal the comeback victory in 1 hour, 56 minutes, WTA reports.
–IANS
bc/