King-Shevedova Win Wimbledon Doubles

Cinderella Story: Chinese American Vania King sparkplugs an unexpected Wimbledon doubles championship.

Vania King of the United States and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan never had set foot inside Centre Court, let alone played there, before the Wimbledon women’s doubles final Saturday.

So the entire experience was a thrill, topped by becoming the fifth unseeded team to win the championship. King and Shvedova beat singles runner-up Vera Zvonareva and Elena Vesnina of Russia 7-6 (6), 6-2.

“I’m sure for both of us, it really hasn’t gotten in our heads that we just won Wimbledon,” said King, who is from California and now lives in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “But maybe tomorrow or maybe next week. So, yeah, I think, I mean, right now, I don’t know what to say.”

Chimed in Shvedova, the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Wimbledon title: “We’re shocked.”

It was the tournament’s first women’s doubles final between two unseeded pairs since 1975.

The match was played a few hours after Zvonareva lost the singles final to Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2. The Russian was in tears before the second set of the doubles match began and again afterward.

Being out on Centre Court caused some shakiness early on for King and Shvedova, but they saved a set point in the tiebreaker and then pulled away.

“Our first time seeing it and first time playing on it,” King said.

She noted that their coaches might have been “more nervous than we were” and that Shvedova’s coach “had a beer before the match to relax.”

WIMBLEDON, England