Mochizuki makes Grand Slam history for Japan

LONDON: Shintaro Mochizuki made history on Sunday becoming the first Japanese player to win a boy’s Grand Slam title, beating Carlos Gimeno Valero of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the Wimbledon final.

The 16-year-old, who was playing just his third grass court tournament, follows 1969 girls singles title winner Kazuko Sawamatsu in triumphing at the grass court Grand Slam.

Mochizuki said he had learned a lot from his compatriot, 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori.

“He’s really nice,” said Mochizuki. “He gives me a lot of advice.

“Like sometimes I practice with him. I learn from him a lot. Yeah, he’s smart.”

Nishikori, nine times a Grand Slam quarter-finalist, took to Twitter almost immediately to fete his compatriot.

“Huge congrats to @ShintaroMOCHIZU! Such an amazing tournament,” tweeted the Japanese star, adding a thumbs up icon, a flexed bicep icon and several Japanese flags.

However, it is not 29-year-old Nishikori who is his idol.

“Roger Federer, I love watching him on TV, yeah,” he said.

“I don’t want to copy him, but I love watching him.”

Mochizuki said he had been mindful of his implosion at the French Open when he led 5-2 in his semi-final only to lose.

He said the pivotal moment had been when he was a set up but break points down early in the second set and managed to hold.

“In the first set, I got broken twice,” he said. “I wanted to hold my service game a lot. It was good. I played really tough.

“He had some break points, but I just tried my best to hold my service game.

“Yes, it was really important game for me.”

Mochizuki admitted not being used to playing in front of so many people on Court One had made him reluctant to perform in front of them.

“I’m shy, so I was like, Why do I have to do that?” he said.

“But it was fun. It’s so many people were there. I was a little bit nervous.”

However, once out there he rather enjoyed playing to his audience, with one jump smash being a special crowd pleaser.

“It was a big chance to do that, so I just did it for fun,” he said. “It was easy ball. I just wanted to make people have fun watching me.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Croatian Ivan Dodig made it back to back Grand Slam successes, clinching the Wimbledon mixed doubles title in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Swede Robert Lindstedt and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia on Sunday.

Chan and Dodig have become a powerful mixed doubles partnership in the past year having won two French Opens and now Wimbledon.

The eighth seeds were always in control surging into a 5-0 lead in the first set.

Although Chan — who won the 2017 US Open doubles title with Martina Hingis — was broken serving for the set they broke back immediately to clinch it.

A break in the eighth game of the second set was all they required before celebrating by climbing up to their entourage’s box to hug them prior to being presented with the trophy.

For both 29-year-old Chan and Dodig, 34, it is their first Wimbledon title of any kind — the Croatian having lost in the men’s doubles final in 2015.