Australian Storm Hunter and Belgian partner Elise Mertens have moved into the Wimbledon 2023 ladies’ doubles semifinals.
London, Great Britain, 12 July 2023 | Leigh Rogers
Storm Hunter and Belgian Elise Mertens are proving why they are one of the world’s best teams.
The third seeds have dropped a total of seven games in a hasty march into the ladies’ doubles semifinals at Wimbledon 2023.
Hunter and Mertens secured their place in the final four with another commanding victory, beating British wildcards Naiktha Bains and Maia Lumsden 6-2 6-1 in quarterfinal action today at the All England Club.
Bains and Lumsden, ranked No.173 and No.178 respectively, had been enjoying a stunning career-best run to become the first all-British pair to reach the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 40 years.
But world No.7 Hunter and world No.8 Mertens simply outclassed their less experienced opponents, conceding only 11 points on serve in the 71-minute encounter.
This improves 28-year-old Hunter and 27-year-old Mertens’ season record to 18 wins from their 23 matches.
They teamed up for the first time at the Australian Open in January, where they advanced to the quarterfinals. Hunter and Mertens also made final-eight appearances at Indian Wells and Miami, before enjoying a title-winning run at the WTA 1000 event in Rome.
This helped Hunter’s ranking peak at a career-high world No.5 in May.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Hunter said of their partnership on The AO Show podcast last week.
Their semifinal run matches Hunter’s career-best result at Wimbledon, having also made this stage in 2021.
With this effort, Hunter joins exclusive company as only the 12th Australian in the Open era to make multiple ladies’ doubles semifinal appearances at Wimbledon.
| Wimbledon ladies’ doubles Australians to reach multiple semifinals in the Open era |
|
| Player | Year |
| Judy Dalton | 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 |
| Margaret Court | 1969, 1970, 1971 |
| Kerry Reid | 1969, 1970, 1978 |
| Karen Krantzcke | 1969, 1970, 1974 |
| Evonne Goolagong Cawley | 1971, 1973, 1974 |
| Helen Gourlay | 1974, 1975, 1977 |
| Wendy Turnbull | 1978, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988 |
| Liz Smylie | 1985, 1987, 1990, 1993, 1996 |
| Rennae Stubbs | 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2009 |
| Sam Stosur | 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 |
| Casey Dellacqua | 2008, 2013 |
| Storm Hunter | 2021, 2023 |
Hunter and Mertens now play the 16th seeds, American Caroline Dolehide and China’s Zhang Shuai, for a place in the…
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