Kichenok and Pavic win the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon

Despite Elina Svitolina’s unsuccessful attempt to win the Wimbledon singles on Thursday, Lyudmyla Kichenok and her Croatian partner Mate Pavic went on to win the mixed doubles, giving their war-torn country another reason to celebrate a Grand Slam champion.

The seventh-seeded Kichenok and Pavic, both 30 years old, defeated Joran Vliegen of Belgium and Xu Yifan of China 6-4 6-7(9) 6-3.

To a thunderous applause from the Centre Court crowd, Kichenok stated, “I try to encourage the people in Ukraine and I hope this helps a little since they are fighting for their freedom.

I want to praise my spouse for their outstanding performance over the past two weeks because this feels fantastic.

Pavic, a 30-year-old former world number one in doubles, adds the Wimbledon mixed doubles crowns to his collection of five Grand Slam doubles victories, including three for men and two for women.

In the women’s semifinals earlier on Thursday, Svitolina, a wildcard, lost to Czech Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.