DJOKOVIC...1 WIMBERS...0
Halep got bit of help from Welsh teenager
BY MATTHEW DUNN SIMONA HALEP insists she was not the surprise hit of Wimbledon – those honours go to a Welsh teenager called Tom Thelwall-Jones.
The world No.7 stunned SW19 on Saturday by stopping Serena Williams’ hunt for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title in its tracks, beating her in the final 6-2 6-2 in 56 minutes.
But the superstitious Halep says her lucky hitting partner from Wrexham played an important part in her stunning triumph.
The Romanian said: “It was the tournament who put us in touch. They recommended him, I liked him and I kept him.
“If I feel good with the person and relaxed on court, I try to hit with the same person every day.
“He has the energy to play well and he is a great guy. So I really thank him for these two weeks.”
Thelwall-Jones, 19, said: “I knew Matt James from North Wales and two years ago he hit with Garbine Muguruza when she won it. I asked him to put in a good word for me.
“I thought Simona would get uptight close to the Final but she was always chilled.
“I got the text from her trainer to say, ‘See you next year,’ so we’ll see.” RESULTS
(1) Novak Djokovic (Ser) bt (2) Roger Federer (Swi) 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 13-12 (7-3)
(3) Su-Wei Hsieh (Tpe) & Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (Cze) bt (4) Gabriela Dabrowski (Can) & Yi Fan Xu (Chn) 6-2 6-4
Men’s Singles Final – Women’s Doubles Final –
(8) Ivan Dodig (Cro) & Latisha Chan (Tpe) bt Robert Lindstedt (Swe) & Jelena Ostapenko (Lat) 6-2 6-3
Jonas Bjorkman (Swe) & Todd Woodbridge (Aus) bt J Eltingh (Ned) & Paul Haarhuis (Ned) 4-6 6-3 10-6
Mixed Doubles Final – Men’s Over-45 Doubles –
Arnaud Clement (Fra) & Michael Llodra (Fra) bt Xavier Malisse (Bel) & Max Mirnyi (Blr) 6-3 1-6 10-7
Men’s Over-35 Doubles –
Cara Black (Zim) & Martina Navratilova (USA) bt Marion Bartoli (Fra) & Daniela Hantuchova (Svk) 6-0 3-6 10-8
Women’s Over-35 Doubles:
(8) Shintaro Mochizuki ( Jpn) bt Carlos Gimeno Valero (Spa) 6-3 6-2
Savannah Broadus (USA) & Abi Forbes (USA) bt Kamilla Bartone (Lat) & Oksana Selekhmeteva (Rus) 7-5 5-7 6-2.
Boys’ Singles: Girls’ Doubles –