China’s Zhang Shuai and her Russian partner Ekaterina Alexandrova have advanced to the second round of the women’s doubles at Wimbledon, defeating the Ukrainian duo Nadiia Kichenok and Yuliia Starodubtseva with a score of 7-5, 6-2.
The 36-year-old veteran Zhang has teamed up with Alexandrova on multiple occasions throughout their careers. The pair showcased a strong performance, converting five break points to secure their victory and a spot in the last 32.
“She is an excellent singles player, so she has good skills in various aspects to withstand tests. We worked together really well, and I hope we can have good performances continuously,” Zhang said, expressing optimism about their future matches.
In another match, China’s Jiang Xinyu joined forces with Wu Fang-hsien of Chinese Taipei to defeat fellow Chinese players Zhu Lin and Tang Qianhui in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Jiang and Wu, seeded 12th in the tournament, demonstrated dominance with strong serves and crucial points to advance to the round of 32.
However, it was the end of the road for China’s Wang Xinyu and Zheng Saisai, who faced a tough contest against the second-seeded duo Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand. Wang and Zheng were defeated 6-1, 6-4, exiting the tournament in the opening round.
