East London News A Force for the community…
ANDREW MURRAY and Serena Williams have won their first mixed doubles at Wimbledon, as Murray takes his first steps in the tennis comeback he feared he may never see.
Injury had caused him so much pain he couldn’t play with his young daughters or sleep through the night – let alone work out how to continue his tennis career. Fortunately for Murray, and Britain’s tennis fans, he had surgery which went very well.
He made his first comeback at Queen’s, where he won the men’s doubles, playing with Feliciano Lopez. This week he’s been back at Wimbledon, again playing doubles. He and his new partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert won their first match, but lost in the second round.
That must have been a disappointment, but it has left Murray free to concentrate on the mixed doubles. He and Serena Williams, a partnership confirmed only at the last minute, have won their first match – and won it well.
The two, playing on the Centre Court, took an hour and 16 minutes to see off Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi (of Germany and Chile respectively) in straight sets (6-4, 6-1). Now they will face Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo, the fourteenth seeds.
Both players were cautiously optimistic after their first victory. Murray said that the pair had played well, returned well and served well. Williams warned that their first match had been a learning curve, but had worked out well. Both said they were taking their pairing seriously and hoped to do well.
There will be thousands of fans willing them on as the tournament progresses.
•Read more about it:
Dagenham hosts inaugural Beanibazar Club Badminton festival
Orient plans Girls Academy for teens
