Hingis, Mirza celebrate Women's Doubles Championship (Photo : Reuters)
It took Martina Hingis 17 years to capture another Wimbledon title and add to three other trophies she won at the top of her game.
The 34-year-old Swiss and her partner, India's Sania Mirza, edged out Russia's Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, 5-7, 7-6, 7-5, to claim the women's doubles championship at the All England Club on Saturday.
The matchup featured the best of the best as Hingis and Mirza came into the match as the top-seeds followed by Makarova and Vesnina.
Starting the match in England's bright summer sunshine, the competitors pushed each other to the limits, ending the match two and a half hours later as evening set in.
In a post-match interview, Hingis expressed her relief that she finally managed to finish the job after coming close in previous pairings.
"It feels like it was in another life," said Hingis, a former World No. 1. "But 17 years, usually you're lucky to win it once or happy to be out here and play on the Wimbledon grounds. It's above my expectations."
Her partner Mirza had quietly been making her mark in the tournament as well.
"It means everything to be here today," she said, as observers noted that she became the first Indian woman to win a grand slam event. "To come out at Wimbledon Centre Court and have the whole crowd behind you is pretty incredible."
"But I think for me, as an Indian, I'm in Little India here," Mirza continued. "There are so many Indians in England. Thankfully there are a lot of us everywhere, but in England especially I've always had amazing support."
Before Hingis and Mirza could savor their victory, Makarova and Vesnina made sure they'd come out and lay everything down at Center Court. The No. 2 seeds appeared to have the match in their pocket, as they pounded the ball at every direction.
"For a match like this, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds playing, it was the best match you could have asked for for the tournament. It was unbelievably exciting. It was exciting to play. I really hope it was exciting to watch, too," Mirza said.
"Even when we were down, we knew we were giving everything we had on the court. These are the moments we worked years and years and all our lives for. This is what we play for. We feel really honored to have won that match really," she added.
Hingis will be suiting up for the mixed doubles championship opposite another India, Leander Paes. The match, scheduled Sunday afternoon, will be against Austria's Alexander Peya and Hungary's Timea Babos.
