Ukrainian player hopes Wimbledon mixed doubles title provides boost at home

By Associated Press

WIMBLEDON, England: Lyudmyla Kichenok hopes her Wimbledon mixed doubles title gives a boost to her fellow Ukrainians.

Kichenok and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat Xu Yifan of China and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-3 in the final on Thursday.

“I try to encourage the people in Ukraine with my performance,” the 30-year-old Kichenok said on court. “I hope it’s going to help them a little bit because they are fighting for their freedom.”

The seventh-seeded pair won the title on Centre Court shortly after Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina lost her singles semifinal to Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.

Kichenok earned her first major title in any format. She is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in women’s doubles, including last year at Wimbledon.

For Pavic, it is a third Grand Slam championship in mixed doubles after titles at the 2016 U.S. Open and 2018 Australian Open. In men’s doubles, Pavic is a three-time major champion, including the Wimbledon title in 2021.

Croatia soccer player Ivan Perisic was in the players’ box for Thursday’s match.

<br /> WIMBLEDON, England: Lyudmyla Kichenok hopes her Wimbledon mixed doubles title gives a boost to her fellow Ukrainians.</p> <p>Kichenok and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat Xu Yifan of China and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-3 in the final on Thursday.</p> <p>“I try to encourage the people in Ukraine with my performance,” the 30-year-old Kichenok said on court. “I hope it’s going to help them a little bit because they are fighting for their freedom.”googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>The seventh-seeded pair won the title on Centre Court shortly after Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina lost her singles semifinal to Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.82 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad843 " id="quads-ad843" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.82 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="4374041191"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Kichenok earned her first major title in any format. She is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in women’s doubles, including last year at Wimbledon.</p> <p>For Pavic, it is a third Grand Slam championship in mixed doubles after titles at the 2016 U.S. Open and 2018 Australian Open. In men’s doubles, Pavic is a three-time major champion, including the Wimbledon title in 2021.</p> <p>Croatia soccer player Ivan Perisic was in the players’ box for Thursday’s match.<br />