The British-Finnish combination of Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen emerged as the surprise winners in the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon.
The unseeded first-timers shrugged off a stiff challenge from the 15th-seeded German-Colombian pairing of Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah, winning 7-6 6-4 in Sunday’s title-clash.
The first set witnessed both pairs consolidating their respective service games throughout. Subsequently, Watson and Kontinen raced to a 5-0 lead in the tie-breaker before closing out the opener.
The intensity subsisted thereafter with the tie evenly poised until the first half of the second set. Serving at 3-3, however, a double fault off Groenefeld’s serve helped Watson and Kontinen acquire the solitary break of the match, who then, went on to seal the tie.
In the battle that lasted one hour and 27 minutes, Watson and Kontinen served seven aces, won a dominating 88 percent of the points on their first serve, besides scoring 13 winners against three of their opponent’s and committing just six unforced errors.
“I can’t really describe how happy I am right now. I can’t stop smiling,” said Watson, who, along with Kontinen, accounted for some big scalps including the Indo-Swiss twosome of Leander Paes and Martina Hingis, who have won five Grand Slams together so far since 2015.
She continued: “We had so much fun from the first point to the last. We didn’t think about winning. We just wanted to go out there and just enjoy our time and just try and play well and go. Now we’re Grand Slam champions; Wimbledon champions.”
Watson and Kontinen walked away with prize money of £100,000 besides taking the lucrative trophy home.
