離開
進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》Taiwan’s Chan becomes Grand Slam finalist at 20
Taiwanese tennis player Chan Hao-ching, right, and her mixed doubles partner, Max Mirnyi, of Belarus, pose before their final at Wimbledon in London yesterday. Photo: CNA
By Dave Carroll / Staff reporter, with CNA
Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching （詹皓晴） became a Grand Slam finalist on Saturday as she teamed up with partner Max Mirnyi of Belarus to grab a spot in yesterday’s mixed doubles final at Wimbledon.
Chan and Mirnyi, in pursuit of his second mixed doubles title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, defeated Daniel Nestor of Canada and France’s Kristina Mladenovic 7-6 （7/4）, 7-5 on Court No. 1.
The 14th seeds converted four of six break-point chances to overcome the No. 5 seeds in 1 hour, 30 minutes and set up a showdown with 15th-seeded Sam Stosur of Australia and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, who defeated Pakistan’s Aisam Qureshi and Vera Dushevina of Russia 7-5, 6-2 in the other semi-final.
“It’s exciting to be in the deep end of the tournament,” Mirnyi told the tournament Web site.
“It has been a while for me here if you exclude the Olympics. No teams have looked at us as potential finalists and that helps in a way. We’ve had a lot of resistance from the first round, and it’s just gratifying to be there and find a way to win time after time,” he added.
After two breaks apiece, a cagey first set ended in a tiebreak, with Mirnyi and Chan coming out on top, but the No. 5 seeds responded in the second set as Mladenovic, who earlier lost the women’s doubles final, showed no signs of tiring as she executed an array of classy strokes.
Chan countered and produced classy shots of her own as the pairs edged closer to another tiebreak, but a timely break in the 11th game put Mirnyi, the winner of 12 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 20-year-old Chan in the ascendency as they served for the match.
Mladenovic and Nestor saved two match points, but their resistance came to an end when Mirnyi’s instinctive volley sealed the win.
“It’s fabulous, because looking back over my career there are many moments that you can just point out as highlights, and being in Wimbledon finals is certainly one of those,” Mirnyi said. “I don’t know what it is, I’ve been here playing for a number of years and I’ve been in three mixed finals, including the Olympics. It must be something to do with London and being with the girls, I guess. Tomorrow [Sunday] is the final game, and we look up to the challenge and will use all the tools we have to try to overcome another opponent.”
“I’m very happy to advance to the finals at Wimbledon. I’ll be more focused and play better tomorrow, since the game is not finished yet,” Chan wrote on Facebook.
Describing Mirnyi as an excellent player, Chan said that she first teamed up with the 37-year-old at the French Open and has since developed a good camaraderie with him.
Mirnyi also praised Chan, saying she is a young and promising player with great potential, and said he is very happy to share his experience with her.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
