Mimi Xu and Mika Stojsavljevic reckon a raucous family-fuelled atmosphere fired them to a historic girls’ doubles final at Wimbledon.
The Welsh and London duo became just the second home pairing to reach the junior showpiece since 1994 as they followed in the footsteps of compatriots Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy last year.
Xu, 16, and Stojsavljevic, 15, breezed past Julie Pastikova and Julia Stusek with a fluent 6-4 6-1 triumph on Court 12.
The tricky Czech and German pairing had beaten the British duo in Roehampton last week but Xu and Stojsavljevic, the seventh seeds here at the All England Club, turned the tables on the Grand Slam stage to put them on the brink of history in SW19.
No British player has won the girls’ doubles titles since Lizzie Jelfs – alongside South African partner Nannie de Villiers – exactly 30 years ago and the dangerous duo believe a partisan atmosphere can propel them over the line.
Xu said: “It’s absolutely amazing.
“We played them last week in Roehampton and lost in a tie-break, so I think we did well to recognise what we needed to do.
“We knew what we were going to expect so that helped us with our tactics – we served well throughout the whole match and it was all good.
“Our mums are like partners in crime at the moment – they’re just absolutely screaming together!
“They’ve been getting on really well with each other, and Mika’s little sister has got the same chant, which seems to be working!”
Stojsavljevic, who memorably reached the girls’ singles quarter-finals last year, added: “I had some family and friends there – that definitely brings the energy and helps pick us up, especially during those tight moments.
“I think we developed our rhythm as the match progressed – we tend to do that and it works for us.
“We were expecting what we thought they’d do - we weren’t on it initially but did well to come back from it.”
Xu and Stojsavljevic were broken early on in the clash and went 2-0 down on a sunbaked day in SW19.
But they recovered immediately to break back, battle to the first set before breezing over the line by bageling their opponents in the second.
They will next face either American second seeds Tyra Caterina Grant and Iva Jovic or sixth seeds Emerson Jones and Vittoria Paganetti in Sunday’s final.
And upbeat Xu, who will take to the court with Stojsavljevic just hours before England’s seismic Euro 2024 final against Spain in Berlin, said: “If we have the same energy and focus, then we have a really good chance of winning.
“We’re just going to take it one at a time, like we did today and yesterday, do the same thing tomorrow and see what happens.
“Overall, we just want to enjoy it because we’re in a Wimbledon final for the first time.”
Asked what it would mean if she crowned a Wimbledon champion on the same day as England banishing 58 years of hurt, Stojsavljevic added: “That would be absolutely amazing.”
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