Benesova, Melzer win mixed doubles
Iveta Benesova of the Czech Republic and Jurgen Melzer of Austria combined to win the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon Sunday, beating Elena Vesnina of Russia and Mahesh Bhupathi of India 6-3, 6-2.
Benesova and Melzer did not drop a set in the tournament and took just 51 minutes on a half-full Centre Court to win their first Grand Slam title together.
It was a second Wimbledon title for Melzer, who won the men's doubles with Philipp Petzschner last year. The 30-year-old Austrian only ended up playing in the mixed doubles after he went out of the singles in the third round. He said not taking it too seriously was the key to their win.
"For me, mixed has to be fun," Melzer said. "We were smiling on the court. Of course, we wanted to win, but it wouldn't have been a nightmare or disaster if we would have lost the match."
After sealing the victory, a smiling Benesova and Melzer lifted their arms in the air before hugging and slapping palms several times.
The 28-year-old Benesova became the third Czech player to win a title at Wimbledon this year after Petra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova in the women's final and Kveta Peschke claimed the women's doubles with Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.
Benesova said Melzer deserved most of the credit for the victory.
"I think I was lucky that he asked me if I want to play. He was awesome," she said. "I think next to him could stand anybody with the racket in the hand and he still would win it."
The 37-year-old Bhupathi, who is one of eight players to have won a career Grand Slam of mixed doubles titles, was looking to win the Wimbledon title for a third time.