1st Mexican woman at Wimbledon in 26 years on grandpa’s path
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Fernanda Contreras Gómez by no means had been to the All England Membership till this weekend, after changing into the primary lady from Mexico since 1996 to carry a spot within the main-draw area at Wimbledon.
She felt as if she knew her method across the place moderately nicely, although. That’s as a result of the 24-year-old Contreras Gómez has been listening to tales of the grass-court Grand Slam match from her grandfather since she was a child — Francisco “Pancho” Contreras Serrano reached the semifinals of blended doubles at Wimbledon in 1958 and likewise performed singles there.
“It was actually cool to stroll across the grounds,” Contreras Gómez stated. “It’s like, ‘Somebody pinch me!’”
She certified in Could for the French Open, then gained a first-round match in the principle draw there. She certified final week for Wimbledon, and, her rating as much as 154th, misplaced her first-round match in the principle draw on Monday, crushed 6-1, 6-4 by Sixty fifth-ranked Magda Linette of Poland.
Contreras Gómez’s enthusiasm was not dimmed a bit.
“It was nonetheless so magical. There have been some moments that I used to be like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m in London. That is insane. I had a reasonably good court docket with a view of Centre Courtroom. All the pieces was pristine. The grass was actually inexperienced. Barely used. I used to be sort of floating. It was superior,” stated Contreras Gómez, who moved together with her household from Mexico to Austin, Texas, when she was 13, then studied mechanical engineering and performed tennis at Vanderbilt.
“There was happiness. There have been moments of uncertainty — ‘Am I going to play with the rain at this time?’ — and endurance,” she stated. “The jittery nerves of, ‘Ooh, I’m about to play. I’m about to stroll out on the court docket.’”
Her grandfather informed her concerning the grind of the tennis tour — particularly the journey concerned — again in his day within the sport. She stated he missed the births of every of his 4 youngsters whereas away taking part in and gave each a center identify to notice the place he was competing on the time: Altamira, Cleveland, Brisbane and — sure, for a son born in 1958 — Wimbledon.
The 2 spoke on the cellphone after Contreras Gómez earned the proper to take part in the course of the off-site qualifying rounds.
His message to his granddaughter?
“He stated: I’m so happy with you. One other ‘F. Contreras’ is within the Wimbledon draw.”
After her one-hour match in opposition to Linette, Contreras Gómez stated she deliberate to speak together with her grandfather on Tuesday.
“I’m positive,” she stated, “he’s going to need to evaluate how my expertise was to his.”
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