Ukrainian player hopes Wimbledon mixed doubles title provides boost at home
Croatia's Mate Savic, right, and Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok celebrate with their trophies after beating Belgium's Joran Vliegen and China's Xu Yifan to win the final of the mixed doubles on day eleven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Credit: AP/Alberto Pezzali
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.
Croatia's Mate Pavic and Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok celebrate with their trophies after beating Belgium's Joran Vliegen and China's Xu Yifan in the mixed doubles final match on day eleven of the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 13, 2023. Credit: AP/Kin Cheung
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