Hsieh Su-wei claims third Indian Wells title as partner Elise Mertens defends her crown
- Veteran Taiwanese Hsieh Su-wei has now won the Indian Wells title with three different playing partners
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and her Belgian playing partner Elise Mertens celebrated another high-profile doubles title on Saturday when they captured the Indian Wells Masters after a comfortable victory against Veronika Kudermetova and Elena Rybakina.
Hsieh and Mertens prevailed in straight sets, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3, in just over 90 minutes.
The second-seeded duo grabbed the US$414,000 first prize and assured their spot at the lucrative season-ending WTA Finals in Mexico next month.
Hsieh and Mertens teamed up to claim the Wimbledon doubles title earlier this year.
“We tried to play aggressive, Su-wei at the net, me from the back so she can cross,” Mertens said.
“I think it all clicked a little bit better in the second set. So we are really, really happy with the win, and qualified for the [WTA] Finals, so very happy for that too.”
The win is veteran Hsieh’s third in doubles at Indian Wells. All of her wins have come with different playing partners. She claimed the championship with China’s Peng Shuai in 2014 and with Barbora Strycova in 2018.
Mertens successfully defended her doubles title in California; she won the title alongside Aryna Sabalenka at the last edition of the tournament in 2019.
“It’s really fun to play with different partners,” Hsieh said. “I collect a lot of friends.”
The 35-year-old now has 30 WTA doubles titles and is aiming to add to that in Mexico.
The WTA Finals will see the top eight singles players and doubles pairings on the Race to the WTA Finals standings from November
This year’s event has been moved to Guadalajara from its original home of Shenzhen because of Covid-19 travel restrictions in China.
