Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok hopes Wimbledon mixed doubles title provides boost at home

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WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Lyudmyla Kichenok hopes her Wimbledon mixed doubles title gives a boost to her fellow Ukrainians.

Kichenok and Mate Pavic of Croatia beat Xu Yifan of China and Joran Vliegen of Belgium 6-4, 6-7 (9), 6-3 in the final on Thursday.

"I try to encourage the people in Ukraine with my performance," the 30-year-old Kichenok said on court. "I hope it's going to help them a little bit because they are fighting for their freedom."

The seventh-seeded pair won the title on Centre Court shortly after Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina lost her singles semifinal to Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 6-3.

Kichenok earned her first major title in any format. She is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in women's doubles, including last year at Wimbledon.

For Pavic, it is a third Grand Slam championship in mixed doubles after titles at the 2016 U.S. Open and 2018 Australian Open. In men's doubles, Pavic is a three-time major champion, including the Wimbledon title in 2021.

Croatia soccer player Ivan Perisic was in the players' box for Thursday's match.