Athletes Return to Win Wimbledon Title

Familiar Dutch athletes made successful returns to Wimbledon this past weekend, winning the doubles title again and giving audiences an impressive show.

Taking place from 2-4 July, the Wheelchair Tennis event saw Robin Ammerlaan (NED) win his third Wimbledon Men's Doubles title on 4 July together with Stefan Olsson (SWE), who won his first title. The two athletes upset top seeds Stephane Houdet of France and Shingo Kunieda of Japan 6-4, 7-6.

Ammerlaan said that their performance was focused on playing their own game and not trying to adjust to their opponents

"We also recognized that we were winning the majority of the points when we went to the net, so we tried to do that as often as we could,” he said. “It is great to be a Wimbledon champion for the third time and I think my experience was a big help for Stefan as it is only his second time here."

In the Women's Doubles final however, there was no upset, with Dutch pair Esther Vergeer and Sharon Walraven taking the win over Australia's Daniela di Toro and Britain's Lucy Shuker 6-2, 6-3. The pair also took second in Wimbledon 2009.

In the competition, Vergeer said that she and her partner had made some changes since Roland Garros Grand Slam NEC Wheelchair Tennis Tour in France last month, where she had won the Women’s Singles title, but lost in the doubles competition.

"After that loss we played today with me on the right and Sharon on the left, and it didn't feel like we had to force anything and struggle to be in the right positions like we did in Paris,” she said. “Everything felt a lot more natural and obviously it paid off. We were dominating and then I think they must have relaxed and gone for everything, so they did well to come back, but thankfully we managed to close it out well."