Watson, Kontinen win mixed doubles

Watson, Kontinen win mixed doubles

July 12, 2016
Heather Watson
Heather Watson




LONDON — Britain’s Heather Watson teamed up with Henri Kontinen of Finland to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles crown and give her country its second title at the Grand Slam Sunday.

The unseeded Watson and Kontinen, playing in their first event together, beat 15th seeds Anna-Lena Groenefeld of Germany and Colombian Roberto Farah 7-6(5), 6-4 on Centre Court after Andy Murray had clinched his second men’s singles crown.

“I guess this is the tournament that every player has in their mind, the prestige and everything... It’s a special place to win,” said Kontinen, whose previous best in mixed doubles was reaching the 2015 French Open semis with Zheng Jie of China.

“I’ll remember this forever,” added British No. 2 Watson. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little girl to be a Grand Slam champion. I would take anything, singles, doubles, mixed doubles... I’ve got one of those now.”

No. 2 Murray narrows gap

Andy Murray’s Wimbledon title allowed him to make a dent Monday in the still-substantial gap in the ATP rankings between him and No. 1 Novak Djokovic, last year’s champion at the All England Club.

Entering Wimbledon, Djokovic had nearly twice as many points as No. 2 Murray, 16,950 to 8,915. But after Djokovic’s loss in the third round, and Murray’s third Grand Slam trophy, the margin is 15,040 to 10,195.

Serena Williams’ seventh title at Wimbledon and record-tying 22nd at a Grand Slam tournament kept her at No. 1 in the WTA rankings, while runner-up Angelique Kerber jumped two spots to No. 2.

The 34-year-old Williams, the oldest No. 1 in WTA history, has held the top spot since February 2013.

Garbine Muguruza, who beat Williams in the French Open final but lost in Wimbledon’s second round, fell from No. 2 to No. 3.

Williams’ sister Venus moved up one spot to No. 7 after reaching her first major semifinal since the 2010 US Open. At 36, she was the oldest woman to make it to the final four at a Grand Slam tournament since Martina Navratilova was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 1994.

There was little movement in the men’s top 10.

Roger Federer stayed at No. 3, and Rafael Nadal at No. 4. Tomas Berdych, who lost to Murray in the semifinals, went from No. 9 to No. 8, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, beaten by the eventual champion in the quarterfinals, moved up two spots to No. 10.

Lucas Pouille’s run to his first major quarterfinal put him at a career-best No. 21, a rise of nine places. — Agencies


July 12, 2016
HIGHLIGHTS