Finnish tennis player Henri Kontinen teamed up with British partner Heather Watson to hold off 15th-seeded Colombian-German pair Robert Farah and Lena Grönefeld and snap up the mixed doubles title in Sunday’s Wimbledon final.
The Finnish-British teammates edged out the competition 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 to take home their first Grand Slam title, and to register Finland’s first ever Grand Slam win. It was the first time the pair played in a tournament together.
Luck was with the underdogs as they had the benefit of walkovers during the first two rounds of the competition. The third round saw them face off and narrowly win against doubles legends – and the favourites to win - Leander Paes and Martina Hingis. Before that they had not even warmed up together.
Duo conquers early jitters
When the pair took to Centre Court for the final, it was clear that they were battling showdown nerves, but they eventually settled into the light-hearted rhythm that had seen them through their earlier games.
The apparent delight with which the Finnish-British duo played in no way diminishes their accomplishment. Farah and his compatriot Juan Sebastian Cabal are a seasoned doubles pair. For her part Grönefeld has won mixed doubles tournaments in Wimbeldon and France in 2009 and 201, respectively.
Watson became the first Briton to win the mixed doubles at Wimbledon since 2007 and the first British woman to win a title since 1987. Although 26 year-old Kontinen is no stranger to the grass court, he had never previously advanced beyond round two in any doubles grand slam. He achieved his best singles ranking at 220 in 2010 and peaked at number 29 in the world doubles rankings in 2015.
The winning pair pocketed 100,000 pounds to share.
