Some powerful memories will be at play in the ladies’ doubles final on Sunday.

Elise Mertens, who joined forces with Hsieh Su-Wei to triumph in 2021, will have an opportunity to add another title alongside Shuai Zhang. Mertens and Zhang will face Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who lifted the ladies’ doubles trophy in 2018.

And if their respective progress in Friday’s semi-finals is an indication, the Championship match between the No.1 and No.2 seeds will be a high quality affair. 

The all-Czech combination of Krejcikova and Siniakova (main picture) were the first to seal their place in Sunday’s final, recovering from a 0-2 deficit against No.4 seeds Lyudmyla Kichenok and Jelena Ostapenko, from Ukraine and Latvia, to secure a dominant 6-2, 6-2 win. 

There was a Grand Slam singles champion in each partnership, Ostapenko the winner of Roland-Garros 2017 and Krejcikova winning the clay court Slam last year. But doubles tennis requires a different dynamic, which the Czechs have developed superbly over the past nine years.

Krejcikova and Siniakova first combined successfully to win three 2013 girls’ doubles Slams – Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open – and their memories of lifting silverware at SW19 are particularly strong. “It's always a very special memory lifting up the trophy,” Krejcikova said.

The Czechs have since won four Grand Slams – including Wimbledon in 2018, with victory over American-Czech duo Nicole Melichar and Kveta Peschke in the final. 

Their seamless communication was a factor as they survived an early test in the 2022 semi-final. Kichenok and Ostapenko gained an early break and immediately consolidated, but Krejcikova and Siniakova bounced back, claiming six games straight to seal the 40-minute opener.

They won 12 of the final 14 games to close out the match in 75 minutes.

“The beginning was the key because there were quite long games and it was really good that after we lost the serve, we broke them straight back, so that really helped us,” said Siniakova.

“Overall we played really great, and we were trying to play aggressive. I'm really happy that we played this way.”

There was also a confidence boost as Mertens and Zhang progressed to the final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 victory over American pair Danielle Collins and Desirae Krawczyk.

The experienced Belgian-Chinese duo underlined their status as the No.1 seeds early, claiming a double break to race to a 4-0 lead over their unseeded opponents. While Collins and Krawczyk steadied, and saved a set point in the seventh game, a Mertens ace secured the first set in 30 minutes.

But as the Belgian’s serve dipped in quality, their American opponents raised their game. Service breaks were exchanged in the third and fourth games, before Mertens dropped serve again to allow Collins to serve for the second set. The experienced American maintained composure to level the match.

The unseeded Collins and Krawczyk had defeated three seeded teams on their path to the semi-final - their confidence perhaps also helped by Krawczyk successfully defending her 2021 Wimbledon mixed doubles title alongside Neal Skupski on Thursday.

Into a third set, the match hung in the balance as the score remained on serve until the eighth game. The momentum shift was sudden as Krawczyk surrendered her service, and Zhang served for a place in the final.

The 33-year-old from China had been the dominant player throughout the contest and, helped by some stellar net play from Mertens, they secured their victory in an hour and 43 minutes.

Motivation is high for all four women, with all having achieved Grand Slam success. Zhang partnered Samantha Stosur to win the Australian Open in 2019 and the 2021 US Open.

Zhang sees promising signs in a first final with Mertens, who also claimed the US Open 2019 and Australian Open 2021 doubles titles. "I (will) follow her. She won the US and Australia first. I will try my best," she said.

For Mertens, a second straight Wimbledon final is an opportunity to cherish. “I’m definitely excited for playing another final here. I know last year we saved two match points, 9-7 in the third - more than three hours. Hopefully it's a bit shorter. 

“You play on Centre Court just a couple of times in your life. And playing Wimbledon, you really have to go for it.”

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