Mimi Xu and Ranah Stoiber backed up their strong singles campaigns as they kickstarted their girls’ doubles campaigns with a rallying win at Junior Wimbledon.
Both Xu, who trains at the LTA’s National Academy in Loughborough, and Stoiber are into the third round of the girls’ singles, and on Tuesday teamed up for an all-British encounter at SW19.
Ninth seeds Stoiber and Xu were up against Ruby Cooling and Hannah Rylatt, and the wildcard pairing started strongly, taking the first set and breaking early in the second.
But Stoiber and Xu were able to battle back and force a deciding tie-break, which they dominated to claim a 3-6 6-4 [10-4] victory.
“It’s good to get the job done out there,” said Stoiber.
“The first round is always going to be tough, especially playing against some Brits. It was a hard match mentally but I’m glad we got through it.
“It was about all or nothing, just going for it and giving it our all, and seeing what happens.”
Xu added: “They played a good match, and I think we did well to get through it. Kudos to them, they played really well.
“I think we knew that we were almost there with our game. It was always about not looking back on the past, and just trying to be positive, just look to play our best game style.”
There was a fantastic atmosphere for the all-British contest, with the duo now guaranteed at least one match in doubles at Wimbledon alongside Wednesday’s singles matches.
Xu commented: “I think the crowd were quite even. If it was a good point, they would clap and they were very loud.
“We’re just taking it match by match, as that’s all we can do as tennis players. We’re ready to go.”
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