Wimbledon, the oldest and grandest of tennis tournaments, is set to begin on Monday, July 1. At the 2024 edition, as many as four Indians will be competing at the grass court Grand Slam.
Sumit Nagal, who is making is main draw debut at Wimbledon, is the only one from India competing in singles. Meanwhile, Rohan Bopanna, N Sriram Balaji and Yuki Bhambri will participate in the men's doubles.
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Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden have been in good touch and won the season-opening major, the Australian Open in January. Second seeds Bopanna-Ebden will be one of the favourite teams for the title.
TSN takes a look at the Indians who have won silverware at the garsscourt Grand Slam:
1999: Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes, men's doubles
1999 was marquee year for Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes -- nicknamed the Indian Express. The Indian duo reached the finals of all the four majors that year to cement their place as one of the best teams in the world at the time.
After winning the French Open that year, Paes-Bhupathi made a successful transition from clay to grass, winning Wimbledon as well only a few weeks after their triumph at Roland Garros. In the final, they defeated the defending champion Paul Haarhuis and his partner Jared Palmer 6–7(10), 6–3, 6–4, 7–6(4).
It was the first time that anyone from India had won a senior title at the Championships.
In an interaction with Sportstar in 2017, when asked if winning Wimbledon was a dream come true, Bhupathi replied, “Honestly, no.”
“It was a dream to play on centre court at Wimbledon, one day. Winning was beyond a dream,” he added.
1999: Leander Paes and Lisa Raymond (USA), mixed doubles
Paes wasn’t done just yet. The Indian, in the company of USA’s Lisa Raymond, won the mixed doubles title as well in 1999.
The top seeds overcame a star-studded field, comprising the likes of John McEnroe, Steffi Graf, Venus Williams, Mary Pierce, Lindsay Davenport and doubles legend Todd Woodbridge (one half of the famous ‘Woodies’).
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It was the year when Graf withdrew from the mixed doubles semi-final, since she made the singles final as well, leaving her partner McEnroe fuming. However, Graf and McEnroe were not in the same half as the Indo-American duo.
Paes-Raymond defeated Jonas Björkman and Anna Kournikova 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, who had received a walkover in the semi-final, in the final to win the title.
2002: Mahesh Bhupathi Elena Likhovtseva (RUS), mixed doubles
Bhupathi teamed up with Russia’s Elena Likhovtseva at the 2002 Wimbledon mixed doubles event. Even though the Russian was just coming into her own as a singles star, she was an efficient doubles player too.
Seeded third at the event, Bhupathi-Likhovtseva knocked out Bjorkman-Kournikova in the quarterfinals and second seeds Donald Johnson-Kimberly Po-Messerli in the semis. In the final, they got the better of fourth seeds Kevin Ullyett and Daniela Hantuchová 6–2, 1–6, 6–1 to capture the title.
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2003: Leander Paes and Martina Navratilova (USA), mixed doubles
Paes and Navratilova, who was 46 at Wimbledon 2003, had struck up an interesting and successful partnership late in 2002. It paid immediate dividends, as the pair won the Australian Open, helping Navratilova win her first major in eight years and become the oldest Grand Slam champion at the time.
A nine-time ladies singles champion, Navratilova knew Wimbledon better than most. And in Paes she had the perfect foil. The American legend’s touch game and Paes’ theatrics brought crowds back to the doubles arena.
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Though they were only a few points away from defeat to all-American pair of Mike Bryan and Lisa Raymond in the quarterfinals, Paes-Navratilova rallied to continue their dream run. They beat Andy Ram and Anastasia Rodionova 6-3, 6-3 in the final to win the Wimbledon mixed doubles title.
2005: Mahesh Bhupathi and Mary Pierce (FRA), mixed doubles
Bhupathi returned to the Grand Slam winners’ circle after nearly three years as he won the mixed doubles title along with France’s Mary Pierce.
With rain playing havoc with the Wimbledon schedule that year, Bhupathi and Pierce were forced to play their semi-final and final on the same day. The unseeded pair upset third seeds Bjorkman Raymond 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinal. They stormed past Paul Hanley of Australia and Tatiana Perebiynis of Ukraine 6-4, 6-2 in just 54 minutes in the final.
2010: Leander Paes and Cara Black (ZIM), mixed doubles
Having finished runners-up the year before, Paes and Black set the record straight in 2010 by winning the mixed doubles event.
They defeated South Africa’s Wesley Moodie and American Lisa Raymond 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the final to win third Grand Slam championship together. Though Paes-Black trailed 2-4 in the second-set tie-break, they won five of the next six points to win the final.
2015: Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis (SUI), women's doubles
Sania Mirza became the first Indian woman to win a senior title at Wimbledon as she won the doubles event with Swiss great Martina Hingis.
In an eventful year where Mirza rose to No 1 in the world, she also captured her first women’s doubles title. The top seeds had progressed to the final without dropping a set.
In an eventful final, Mirza-Hingis scraped past Russian duo of Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina 5-7, 7-6, 7-5.
After falling behind 2-5 in the deciding set, they rallied to win the next three games. Just then, the Centre Court roof had to be closed due to bad light so the players had to return to the locker room.
“When we moved in and were sitting there for half an hour you won't believe all four of us were cramping - because of nerves, not tiredness,” Mirza told India Today in 2019.
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Mirza-Hingis tamed the nerves, got a break straightaway after returning to court and clinched the third set 7-5.
2015: Leander Paes and Martina Hingis (SUI), mixed doubles
Hingis, who teamed up with Paes, had a much easier outing in the mixed doubles final, which was scheduled less than 24 hours after the marathon women's doubles final.
Two of the savviest doubles practitioners, Paes-Hingis cruised to the Championships without dropping a set. They eased past Alexander Peya of Austria and Timea Babos of Hungary 6-1, 6-1 in the final to win the mixed doubles title.
“Coming out and playing like that on one of the most prestigious courts that we've grown up with. And winning a title like that, again for the second time in a Grand Slam without losing a set, that is really special,” Paes said after the win.
It was the fifth Wimbledon title and 16th Grand Slam crown for Paes, who finished his decorated career with a total of 18 majors.
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