WIMBLEDON, England (AP) 鈥 Lyudmyla Kichenok hopes her Wimbledon mixed doubles title gives a boost to her fellow Ukrainians.
Kichenok and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat Xu Yifan of China and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-3 in the final on Thursday.
鈥淚 try to encourage the people in Ukraine with my performance,鈥 the 30-year-old Kichenok said on court. 鈥淚 hope it's going to help them a little bit because they are .鈥
The seventh-seeded pair won the title on Centre Court shortly after Ukrainian player to Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.
Kichenok earned her first major title in any format. She is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in women鈥檚 doubles, including last year at Wimbledon.
For Pavic, it is a third Grand Slam championship in mixed doubles after titles at the 2016 U.S. Open and 2018 Australian Open. In men鈥檚 doubles, Pavic is a three-time major champion, including the Wimbledon title in 2021.
Croatia soccer player Ivan Perisic was in the players' box for Thursday's match.
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