Hsieh and Zielinski Triumph in Mixed; Rybakina, Putintseva do well in women’s singles
The curtains drew on the prestigious Wimbledon 2024 tournament with Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz recording one of the most dominating wins in the final of the grass court major and in the process denied Serbian great a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Alcaraz retained his men’s singles title — fourth Major overall — with a dominating performance in the final against the 37-year-old Djokovic, who was subdued by the 21-year-old Spainsh player with his powerful game.
Czech player Barbora Crejcikova annexed the women’s singles title with a fluent victory against Italian Jasmine Paolini, who too is enjoying a great run in her career.
ASIAN WOMEN PLAYERS MAKE A MARK
While it was a tough outing for the men’s players from Asia, the women athletes yet again put on an impressive show with Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva leading the way.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion yet again went deep in the draw, before making a semifinal exit. The Kazakhstan player lost to eventual champion Crejcikova in the last-four stage.
Putintseva’s run was halted by Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the fourth round. The Kakzakhstan player had caused a major upset by ousting world number one Iga Swiatek in third round, injecting a dose of drama into the women’s singles draw.
She became the first woman player to topple a world No. 1 at Wimbledon after losing the first set since Alison Riske’s similar feat against Ashleigh Barty in 2019.
The likes of Naomi Osaka, Qinwen Zheng, Alexander Bublik, Zhizhen Zhang, Kei Nishikori, and Yoshihito Nishioka gave their best while battling against the best in the world.
DOUBLES SUCCESS
Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Su-wei led Asia’s challenge in the doubles as she triumphed in the mixed doubles with Jan Zielinski and also made the ladies doubles semifinal with Elise Mertens.
Hsieh and Zielinski’s victory in the mixed doubles was nothing short of spectacular. The Taiwanese-Polish duo, who had already won the Australian Open title in January, defeated Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez and Giuliana Olmos 6-4 6-2 in the final.
This win marked Hsieh’s fifth doubles title at Wimbledon, taking her major doubles title count to nine. Her partnership with Zielinski proved unbeatable, and they remained the team to beat throughout the tournament.
JUNIORS CAMPAIGN
Japan’s Takahiro Kawaguchi emerged champion in the Wimbledon 14&U event.
The top 16 players from around the world, including eight Asian players (four boys and four girls), vied for the top honors in this competition and Kawaguchi shone the brightest, dominating the round-robin stage and then the semi-finals to ultimately claim the boys’ title.
In the final, Kawaguchi outclassed Jordan Lee of the USA 6-2, 6-2, displaying tactical brilliance and showcasing his tremendous potential.
Kawaguchi’s win is significant not only for Japan but also for the Asian tennis community as a whole. His participation and experience at Wimbledon will undoubtedly help him grow as a player and propel him towards a promising career.
Other Asian players, like Dongjae Kim (KOR) in the boys’ category and Xinran Sun (CHN) in the girls’ category, also put up impressive performances before falling short in the semi-finals.
In the wheelchair category, Japan’s Yui Kamiji won the women’s doubles title with South Africa’s Kgothatso Montjane.
In the men’s wheelchair event, Tokito Oda’s quest for a third consecutive Grand Slam title ended in disappointment, but he and partner Takuya Miki finished as doubles finalist.
As the Asian contingent brings home memories of Wimbledon 2024, congratulations to the winners and best wishes for their future endeavours.
Leave A Comment