Shuker sunk De Groot lands wheelchair double
Britain’s Lucy Shuker and German partner Sabine Ellerbrock lost the women’s wheelchair doubles final to top seeds Diede de Groot and Yui Kamiji 6-1, 6-1.
Shuker is the most physically impaired athlete in the top-10-ranked women after being injured in a motorcycle accident 18 years ago and credits the sport with transforming her life.
De Groot, from Holland, is the first wheelchair athlete to win Wimbledon singles and doubles titles in the same year. and can get back to playing in the biggest tournaments because that is what she is used to doing.
“She has obviously had difficult moments over the past few years with lots of different things. I hope she has a good run in the summer.”
It was not just the birth of her son Leo, whose name she has embroidered on her tennis shoes, that has caused Azarenka to miss out on top-level tennis, including last year’s Wimbledon, but also a difficult custody battle after she split with her former partner, Billy Mckeague.
As the doubles pair progressed through the Championship, with their swashbuckling brand of play, where they had to come back from being a set down in the first round and quarter-finals, the British public grew fond them. Murray’s mother, Judy, dubbed them “Muzzarenka” and the portmanteau trended on social media.
They also attracted celebrity fans, the Royal Box was deserted at the start of the mixed doubles match after the men’s final, but Oscar award-winning actor Eddie Redmayne and his wife Hannah Bagshawe watched intently from the start. They were joined by Hugh Grant and Benedict Cumberbatch as Centre Court gradually began to fill up.
Despite all the good will, Peya and Melichar were superior. The American, who had lost out in the women’s doubles finals on Saturday, was out to prove herself, with a serve that reached a top speed of 110mph.
Murray and Azarenka seemed jaded by the tie-break for the first set, where they capitulated. In the second set, the momentum was with Peya and Melichar and in winning they both sealed their first Wimbledon and grand slam title.