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De Minaur, Boulter all smiles despite Wimbledon exit

3 minute read

Their mixed doubles adventure is over but Alex de Minaur and Katie Boulter were still left smiling after their exit.

ALEX DE MINAUR.
ALEX DE MINAUR. Picture: Al Bello/Getty Images

The mixed doubles challenge of Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur, the Anglo-Aussie couple who have won the hearts of Wimbledon, is over.

Their singles campaigns may have been finished but another packed house flocked to No.2 Court on Sunday to cheer British No.1 and new golden girl Boulter and top Aussie men's player de Minaur, whose three-year old romance has captured the imagination of the UK press at SW19.

But just a day after Boulter had been knocked out on Centre Court by defending champion Elena Rybakina, ending the pair's singles involvement, their brief dalliance in the doubles was also ended in the second round as they lost 6-3 4-6 7-6 (10-2) to Belgium's Joran Vliegen and China's Yifan Xu.

Dubbed the new 'It couple' of tennis by local media, the pair spent their two hours on court seemingly enjoying every minute of the extraordinary acclaim from the crowds who haven't taken to a mixed doubles pair at Wimbledon with such enthusiasm since Andy Murray teamed up with Serena Williams four years ago.

Alas, they were still outplayed in the final champions' tiebreak to decide the match, but were still given a huge ovation at the end as de Minaur gave Boulter a hug and the pair departed while still all smiles.

Defending men's doubles champion Max Purcell, who's now teamed up with his Australian Davis Cup colleague Jordan Thompson following last year's triumph with Matt Ebden, has reached the last-16 stage.

The Sydney pair earned a 6-4 5-7 6-4 win over Argentine 14th seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

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