A new team will be crowned Grand Slam champions when the ladies’ doubles final is contested, with No.3 seeds Su-Wei Hsieh and Barbora Strycova to face No.4 seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Yifan Xu.
Each team claimed an upset to progress to a first Grand Slam doubles final together. Dabrowski and Xu overcame defending champions and No.2 seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova in a three-set semi-final, while Hsieh and Strycova stunned top seeds and recent Roland-Garros champions Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic in an absorbing straight-sets battle.
Dabrowski and Xu are both vying to lift a first ladies’ doubles trophy, as is Strycova. And while Hsieh claimed the 2013 Wimbledon and 2014 Roland-Garros doubles titles with Shuai Peng, there’s exciting new ground in claiming a major trophy with the Czech.
Should she win alongside Hsieh, Strycova will become the new doubles world No.1. “Being in the final at my favourite tournament at Wimbledon already means something very special and all the time this week in singles and now also in doubles it feels great,” beamed the 33-year-old Czech, who also reached the semi-final in the singles.
“But to be honest I don't think so much about the No.1 (ranking). I just really want to go out there tomorrow and enjoy that we are in the final and try to play our best we can.”
A superb quality win from the Canadian-Chinese duo of Dabrowski and Xu to overcome Krejcikova and Siniakova on No.1 Court hints at a monumental battle.
With Dabrowski sturdy and Xu showing the best of her left-handed flair at the net, the No.4 seeds were dominant from the outset. After gaining a break on the Krejcikova serve in the opening game, they barely faltered: Siniakova managed the only hold for the Czechs, as Dabrowski and Xu claimed that first set in 23 minutes.
The No.2 seeds rallied in the second set, Krejcikova’s first hold to open that stanza helping wrestle momentum. They also persisted as Siniakova faced an uphill battle to defend her serve two games later; there were nine deuces and six break points saved as the game spanned more than 10 minutes. The defending champions maintained their intensity, Krejcikova serving out the set in 40 minutes.
When the feisty Siniakova dropped serve in the fourth game of the second set, however, the Czechs were unable to recover. The gritty Xu saved three break points to consolidate and after an hour and 39 minutes, they secured the 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 victory when a Siniakova volley drifted long.
“I think even in the second set when we had a little bit a dip and they started to play a little bit better. I don't think we panicked. We just kept trying,” said Dabrowski. “We just kept trying to save our service games, so we could grab some momentum – we didn’t, but that second set didn’t scare us. Going into the third, I think we maintained our concentration pretty well the whole time.”
For No.3 seeds Hsieh and Strycova, a 7-6(5) 6-4 progression was virtually flawless. With not a single break point – let alone a break of serve – in the first 12 games, the more experienced pair showed their composure when the first set went to a tie-break.
There, the only glitch was a volley miss from Hsieh; it was quickly forgotten as a stunning backhand volley from Strycova secured the set in 45 minutes.
Breaking the Mladenovic serve in the first game of the third set, Hsieh and Strycova maintained positive momentum – underlining their level, neither faced a break point for the one-hour, 24-minute contest.
The first match points came on the Mladenovic serve again as the Frenchwoman served at 4-5 in the third set. It was then that the No.4 seeds experienced their biggest concern, as Strycova took a hit from a Babos volley. While the top seeds saved that game, Hsieh and Strycova quickly recovered as Hsieh secured victory with a trademark winner.
“We are very happy,” said Strycova. “I think the level of the match was very high – in the first set, us and also the other team were playing really, really good tennis and we took the first set, which was really important for us. And then we built the confidence in the second. It was a tough, good match for us.”
Strycova believes that singles and doubles success exists hand-in-hand. “It always helps, she said. “Singles helps me for doubles and the other way as well. You can always take something from each event, and you can also learn something from it. I am so happy that I am playing both singles and doubles."
Hsieh takes confidence from her previous Grand Slam successes but relishes the opportunity to that success. “It was a long time ago,” she laughed. “It was very exciting before but now there's a new challenge coming and then tomorrow we just go on the court and enjoy it.
“It doesn't matter what happens, we just fight for every point and try to smile with every point.”
Dabrowski, who claimed the 2017 Roland-Garros mixed doubles title with Rohan Bopanna and 2018 Australian Open with Mate Pavic, also draws on both confidence and a fresh approach.
“I definitely hope it helps,” said the Canadian. “It probably helped a little bit today like walking out onto the court and just seeing such a big crowd for us. I was like 'wow, this is awesome' and I wasn't afraid.”
The Canadian is hoping to take that same mentality into a second career outing onto Centre Court with Xu, having also played a mixed doubles match there several years ago. “It will be incredible,” she smiled. “I really want to take it all in.”
